


Maverick

by JesterFesta



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Angst, M/M, Tagging as I go, and some swearing, might be a bit fast paced at times, supernatural powers, there's some violence in here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-08-17 06:44:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 75,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16511276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JesterFesta/pseuds/JesterFesta
Summary: Some humans are born normal. Then again, others aren't.The story of Wonho who tries to find out what exactly happened to him that he wakes up in a circle of strangers one day. The story of a mutant trying to find a place for those like him in a society that is afraid of the inexplicable, the uncontrollable.The story of a maverick called Wonho.





	1. Mutants don't run away

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Leslie who helped a lot with the planning](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Leslie+who+helped+a+lot+with+the+planning).



> Hi, this is JesterFesta and this is my brand new fic I'm trying to write over NaNoWriMo 2018! (I might need a bit more time than that to finish but I'll most definitely reach 50k words in that one month)  
> As I am writing to reach a certain word count, things might be a bit messy at times but I'm trying hard to keep it all in order and if there are any questions regarding the universe/characters/story, just drop me a comment!
> 
> twt @JesterFesta

He didn't know what had happened. Where he was. Who he was.

He just knew that his head hurt. It hurt like somebody took a stone and ground his brain with it. Blood was rushing in his ears but there was something else. Was it people talking? He tried to focus to understand what they were saying. Or was he imagining it? _At least I can still hear_ some _thing._ But what the hell were they saying? There was a lot of agitated hissing and he forced himself to breathe calmly, inhaling the scent of damp earth to concentrate. Was it raining? Or had it rained shortly before? He could not feel any rain drops. A sharp pain rushed through his whole body, sense of touch returning. His arm. His arm was hurting so bad. _So I still have an arm, huh?_

“...got the transmitter”, a voice said quietly with another replying.

“Good. Won, close the wound-”

“Oh god, is that blood? Count me out, I'm not doing this.”

“What good is a healer that's afraid of blood, get your shit toge-”

The pain remained, kept throbbing in his arm and he wanted it to end. Something warm was flowing down his skin and he mustered up all of his strength to move but all he could do was let out a groan. The voices returned. “He's waking up, what to do?”

“You let him wake up and see what he can do. But remember the bracelets!”

“The bracelets, right.” He felt someone grabbing his wrists, something cold closing around them shortly after. Bracelets. What kind of bracelets? What were they for?

“Hey, are you alright?”

Another groan escaped his lips as the feeling in his fingers returned, scraping over the ground as he tried to push himself up. _Open your eyes. You are useless without sight._ But his eyelids were so heavy it took him a moment. Hands grabbed his shoulders to help him sit up when he kept struggling with his hurting arm.

“Easy there, buddy. Shit we need to stop the bleeding. Hyungwon, come on!”

“No fucking way I'm going near that pool of blood.”

“Well then go and be useless.” He managed to open his eyes, blinking and squinting to adjust to the torch that was literally in his face. The person supporting him seemed to notice and he was shifted against their chest while something tight was wrapped around his arm. “Here, that will do for now.” He raised his head to find the face of a boy probably only a few years younger than him. His ears were protruding and he looked back at him with an apology in his eyes. “You're safe here, don't worry.”

Safe from what? He looked at the already staining cloth around his arm, clenched his fist a few times before looking around. It was nighttime and there were more people surrounding him, at least five. He squinted some more and his vision got better with each passing second. He cleared his throat in an attempt to get his voice back.

“Who are you?” One of the bystanders asked, taking a step closer. His hair was of a cold silverish color.

“Where the fuck am I?”, he asked back, unable to suppress the roughness of his voice. How long had he not spoken? Where had he come from anyway?

“You should know best. The question is _how_ you got here.” They stared at each other for a good while but he knew it was useless. If they kept asking stuff without replying to one another this would go on forever. So he took another deep breath and tried to remember. Put the pieces back in place.

There wasn't much. A white corridor, just as white rooms. A bright red light that made him uncomfortable. What was this memory? There was a voice. _“This is no place for you to stay.”_ A voice that made him feel like he should remember more. _“You need to get out of here. Run and don't turn back.”_

Run from where? He heard his own voice. _“I'm not gonna leave you-”_

“ _You need to run, Wonho. Get me another time but not now!”_

Wonho. That must have been his name. He looked up at the silver hair. Cold like the light of the white rooms from that memory. “My name...is Wonho.”

“Wonho?” The other seemed surprised and a smile appeared on his face. Good. Smiles were good. “I'm Seungcheol. I keep this lot here together. How did you get here?”

“I-” Wonho got up with the help of the guy with protruding ears and the strong grip on his arm helped him staying on his feet. “I honestly don't remember. I just...ran from something.” He felt bad. Something told him it was better to befriend Seungcheol and those surrounding him but he just couldn't give any answers he did not know about himself. Thankfully, they did not seem to mind his lack of responsiveness.

“Don't look at me like I'm going to eat you”, Seungcheol chuckled. “Temporary memory loss is nothing uncommon once you're out. It's the shock. Seokwon, sit him down by the fire, will you? I'll be right over. And everybody else do whatever. Get Hyungwon some food before he passes out.”

“Sure thing”, the one helping him said and lead Wonho towards a little bonfire near them while the rest of them dispersed. “Wonho, was it? I'm Seokwon, it's nice to meet ya-”

“What did he mean?” Seokwon frowned at him while Wonho sat down on a nearby box. The warmth of the fire seeped through his clothes right away. “What Seungcheol said about memory loss. Once you're out of where?” He looked around as Seokwon didn't reply right away, realizing that they were under a small shelter and there were a few stacked ship containers barely fifty steps away. Was this where they were living? Whoever they were.  
Seokwon cleared his throat to grab Wonho's attention. “You really don't remember a thing? Ran from a facility, didn't ya?”

It was Wonho's turn to frown. “Facility? What-” The white rooms flashed before his eyes. Yes, yes you could call that a facility. What had they done with him there? He remembered a lot of injections. Remembered the way they made him feel like something was suppressed inside of him. If he had to describe it he'd say it was some sort of energy. “What do they experiment on there?”, he wanted to know but before Seokwon could reply Seungcheol came back with two new faces in tow. They were carrying some heavy equipment, wires peeking out here and there as they set everything up.

Seungcheol gave him a reassuring smile and dismissed Seokwon with a wave of his hand. “Now, let's see what power you have. You don't happen to remember what kind of mutant you are?”

 _Mutant?_ The word had an unpleasant ring to it and he shook his head. “What's a mutant?” The two nameless guys stopped to shoot each other unsure glances but Seungcheol only took a deep breath.

“Damn, you're a really bad case. Listen, in our society there are people who have certain special abilities, if you will. Those range from physically visible to psychic and are as various as the people on this planet. You...Do you remember?”

_The white rooms. Red siren. “A mutant escaped, get him!”_

“ _Run, Wonho.”_

“ _I won't leave you.”_

“ _This is no place for you.”_

“ _I'm going to come back.”_

“ _I can't hold them up for long. Go. Live.”_

_White rooms. Flickering lights._

Then nothing.

Wonho accepted the water that was offered to him hoping for it to clear up the chaos of thoughts. There was more water in a tub behind them and he refilled his can once more. He had run and he had left someone behind. Someone important. But was it in a...in a facility? Was he a mutant? He had to be then, right? “I...I guess. I remember a bit, I mean.”

Seungcheol watched his expression in concentration but kept smiling. “That's a start. Do you know your power?” He shook his head. _Flickering lights. Beeping machines._ Nothing else. “Don't fret, we can find out either way. Minghao, connect him.” They had built something that looked like a computer with two monitors a few steps away and one of the nameless guys stepped closer with a little instrument he intended to attach to Wonho's arm.

“This might sting a little”, the guy said with an apologetic grin before doing what had to be done. What choice did Wonho have without even knowing a thing about how he had gotten there? So he nodded, but he was not prepared.

It stung. No, to say it stung was an understatement. Once the tiny needle pierced his skin it felt like lightnings surging through his body. His heartbeat rate increased and his fist clenched in response to the impulse. It hurt. It tried to suck him dry, whatever they were doing.

“Well, it certainly is a strong power. You didn't use it all that much”, the second guy behind the computer muttered with a raised brow. “Holy shit these stats are amazing, Coups, we can be glad he's got bracelets on.”

Wonho let out a hiss when the pull got stronger. “What is this? Fuck, what are you doing to me?”

Seungcheol was calm like this was supposed to happen at first, then turned worried upon seeing Wonho hunched over. “We're trying to figure out who you are and what you can do. We have access to an older version of a facility data bank. Minghao got it from a friend of ours a few months back.”

“And you need me to be in pain for that? Shit, this feels horrible, stop it.”

“I'm sorry, we should have waited for you to recover, I didn't think it would be that hard on you-”

“Coups, I think we found him”, Minghao announced with a deep frown. Frowning was the only appropriate reaction here it seemed. “You said your name is Wonho?”

 _Run, Wonho._ “Yes, it's all I can remember”, he growled, wishing to just rip the needle out of his arm.

“It says Hoseok here. Shin Hoseok?”

He shook his head, arm turning numb. “I don't recall being named Hoseok. I'm Wonho.” He had to be. The voice said so.

“Just a bit longer, stay strong.” Seungcheol quickly rounded the computer to look at the screens and back to Wonho. “Everything else is identical though. This is most definitely you. Disconnect him, he's not doing well.”

They were in a hurry to shut off whatever process was going on and the electric impulses grew weaker as soon as the needle was pulled out of his veins. Wonho believed he would never be able to use that arm again but they said the feeling was bound to return in a short while. “Fuck you should have warned me!”, he snapped at Seungcheol who remained calm.

“Seeing how you have the power to shout at me you seem fine. We could not know you would react that strongly but the answer is here on our screen, look.”

He stepped to the side to let Wonho take a look at the profile showing his own picture. His hair colored like a flame, a mix of orange and blonde. Dark brown eyes, the straight nose and lips that curled upwards without him having to smile. There could be no mistake, this was him. Everything was exactly describing him. Everything but that weird name. _Hoseok._ He scanned the profile, height, age, blood type...mutation. “Electricity?”, he read it out loud and turned towards Seungcheol. “What does that mean?”

“It means, dear Hoseok-”

“Wonho.”

“If you insist. It means that you have the ability to manipulate everything connected to electricity, it might even explain why you were in so much pain just now. Technology's calling for you. It's a part of you.”

Wonho stepped back glancing at the two guys behind the screen for help but of course they did nothing but stare. “Sounds weird. Manipulating electricity? How would that be possible? Stop playing games and tell me what's going on. What the fuck do you want from me?!”

He did not want to believe this supernatural bullshit. It seemed weird, like he was not supposed to be there with Seungcheol, Minghao and all the other people. They scared him. “Stop talking nonsense about mutants.”

“You want me to stop talking? Fine, I'll show you then.” Seungcheol crossed his arms and stared Wonho in the eyes, not moving the slightest and the latter was about to start laughing at how ridiculous everything about this situation seemed when he felt a cold sensation crawl over the skin of his neck. Cold and wet like...like... _Water?_ He felt like it got increasingly harder to breathe, the coolness encircling his throat. He tried to touch it, take it off but all he touched was water. He was short on breath, clawed at his throat again only to drench his sleeve with liquid. _Impossible._ “W-what-” _I made it here, how can it end now?_ But why did coming here feel like an achievement? He did not understand a thing. Not about himself. Not about Seungcheol and the other people. Not about the fact that he was about to be strangled with _water._

“I'm a water mutant”, Seungcheol finally said through clenched teeth. “And this is how I could use my power. If any of us wanted to kill you, you would be dead already, trust me. But you are like us.” The pressure lessened as Seungcheol relaxed, arms dropping to his sides and Wonho had to gasp for air. “We don't fight among ourselves. So calm down and think. You don't have anywhere to stay and we're offering you what you need.”

It sounded genuine but Wonho had a hard time believing it. _We don't fight among ourselves, huh?_ It was true, he could have been dead already anyway. He didn't have anything to lose, did he? _Come and get me if you want, but not now._ He had to take what he got. He had to find the owner of that voice, they had to know something. But he was wounded and out of it, all he could do at that moment was lie low and recover. Seungcheol had won this.

“It is...a lot to take in.” He let his fingers graze the skin of his neck still damp from the water.

“I know it is. But try to understand, I know this is especially hard because you don't remember anything but...really. Just trust us for now, yeah?”

He still didn't have a choice. It was either accepting the kindness of people speaking of supernatural powers or being on his own with his amnesia and nowhere to go. Viewing it like that, the choice was easy. “I'll try. Thanks for...for tolerating me.”

“Don't worry, we've seen worse. Wait here for someone to get you, yes?” Seungcheol smiled momentarily, then turned towards the container-like building behind them, voice raised. “Where's Hyungwon? He has a spare bed, doesn't he? He is to take Wonho in for the night.”

He had heard that name before, it belonged to a panicking voice refusing to step near his bleeding arm before. A man around his age stepped out of the container-fortress' entrance and made a beeline for him. It had to be said Hyungwon. Wonho glanced at the gauze wrapped around his forearm, stained from blood that had stopped flowing and decided to hide it from the other for the moment. Maybe blood was a sensitive topic to him?

“W-Wonho, right? Coups said you stay with us. I'm Hy-Hyungwon.” Wonho did not know whether he was stuttering because he was afraid of him, self-conscious or just nervous because he kept trying to glance at the wounded arm. In any case it felt weird to hear him stutter because that guy was tall like a skyscraper compared to Wonho and could look like he was about to murder you with a snap of his fingers. His hair was of the same silver color as Seungcheol's and one would expect he was just as intimidating but no. Well, looks can be deceiving.

“Nice to meet you. Yeah, I'm...kind of suffering from amnesia and, you know...thanks for letting me stay the night?” Wonho mustered up a smile, the best he could and Hyungwon seemed to relax almost immediately, snuggling into his knit wool sweater with a content expression.

“No probs, we have quite a lot of mutants staying here. Take some water, you look drained.” And drained he was. Wonho drank about two more cans before following Hyungwon into the dimly lit containers. “There's about twenty mutants staying here at the moment”, he explained on their way through corridors just when a person called Wonho's name and he turned around to find one of the computer guys coming to them. Minghao, was it?

“I wanted to apologize for what happened just now. We never had anybody who was as pained by the testing machine, I'm really sorry!”

Wonho blinked in surprise, he hadn't expected an apology for it, thought it might have been normal to feel as horrible as he had, so he just waved it off. He was tired and wanted to either eat or sleep, nothing else. “It's...fine, I guess. Just don't think about it, really. Well then, good night, sorry to keep you awake?” He shrugged with another smile and Minghao seemed relieved, bowing and glancing at Wonho's wrists.

“You must not take off those bracelets, I think nobody explained it to you. Just...do me that favor for now. Good night!” There was no time to ask and Wonho just stood watching Minghao leave in a hurry.

“He may look like a cold hacker but he's just as concerned as we are when something happens”, Hyungwon mumbled softly before tugging at Wonho's sleeve and resuming their walk. “This way. The bracelets keep you from accidentally using your powers, they block them, basically.”

It was only then that Wonho examined the weird round metal bracelets around his wrists. They looked like they were made of an old blue gem stone lined with long forgotten golden runes and uncomfortably cold to the touch. “These little things can keep powers like Seungcheol's in check? Sounds like some psychological phantasm.”

“You'd be surprised. Don't you feel how they're blocking something in you?”, Hyungwon kept digging but Wonho just shrugged.

“I didn't even know I apparently have one of those powers until half an hour ago, I don't think I'd feel a difference now.” He eyed his guide's wrists but could not spot anything remotely similar to the dark blue bracelets. Only a yellow rubber thing that surely didn't lock his ability. “Why do you not wear any?”

Hyungwon hummed a happy tune to himself, fingers still curled around the sleeve of Wonho's battered leather jacket. “Because my power can't be harmful in any way, it's as simple as that.” The silver hair bounced a little as Hyungwon started skipping through the corridors dragging him along. “How old are you, Wonho?”

“Twenty-five. You?”

“A year younger, then. Didn't think you're a grandpa.” Hyungwon chuckled to himself but Wonho forced him to slow down a little.

“It's just one year, how does that make me a grandpa?”

“Are you older than me or are you not, huh? You're older. That makes you a grandpa.”

“That doesn't make sense-”

“Neither does the fact that you don't remember anything, Wonho. We're here!” They came to an abrupt halt in front of a metal door and Hyungwon didn't even bother knocking before slamming it open. “New roommate!”, he announced with a smile towards two people sitting in their respective bunk beds. “His name's Wonho and Coups wants us to be nice to him. Wonho, these dudes are Seokwon and Wonwoo.”

 _Seokwon._ His eyes landed on the protruding ears right away and he decided to smile again. “Thanks for supporting me earlier.” Seokwon waved it off with a grin of his own and Wonho concluded the unknown face in the top bunk must belong to Wonwoo then. His fringe was almost covering his eyes and he was wearing wire rimmed glasses, squinting a little looking down on Wonho. “Nice to meet you.”

“He doesn't talk much”, Seokwon mumbled just when the growling of a stomach sounded through the room and Wonho curled his arms around his waist in a hopeless attempt to silence it. His ears sure as hell were red by the time he dared looking at the others again.

“Sit.” Hyungwon finally let go of his sleeve and pushed him towards a free bunk. “I'm gonna get you something to eat, be right back.”

Wonho didn't even have a choice as the door was closed just a second later and he was alone with Seokwon and Wonwoo. He liked Hyungwon, he seemed very easygoing and nice to be around but he did not know about the other two. Well, Seokwon had helped him before, that was a plus. But the emerging silence was more than awkward. “So...”

“What kind of mutant are ya?”, Seokwon asked curiously leaning forward on his bed. “I can make my skin change texture, see?” He pulled up his sleeves to reveal tan arms and Wonho did not know what to expect but his eyes widened almost comically when Seokwon's skin started to turn golden. Golden and somewhat shiny.

“Is that metal?”, Wonho asked curiously and the other leaned closer for him to touch the arms. They were cold and smooth under his fingertips. Fascinating.

Seokwon nodded, skin tone slowly returning to what it had been before, soft and warm. “It's actual gold. That shit is heavy, I tell ya.” It certainly explained the tight and stable grip on Wonho's shoulder and arm earlier. “Wonwoo manipulates emotions, sometimes. Makes you cry like a baby if he wants ya to.”

“It's not my fault you keep losing when we're playing cards”, the other retorted with a sigh, glaring at Seokwon from behind his glasses. “I'm not manipulating you so you cry when you lose, what do you take me for?”

“Oh, so now you're telling me I'm crying because I want to, yeah?”

“That's exactly what I'm saying.”

Seokwon pressed his lips together and stared at Wonwoo before finally giving up and turning to Wonho again who had watched in confused silence. “Anyway, what can _you_ do?”

“I...uhm...I don't know”, he stuttered fiddling with the blue bracelets. “Seungcheol said it was something like...electricity?”

“Lightnings?!” Seokwon started shaking with excitement. “Show us! Come on, ya have to!”

“I don't think that's a good idea”, Wonho chuckled awkwardly as he recalled Minghao's request for him not to take the bracelets off. He raised his hands for them to see his wrists. “They said I should keep these on for now-”

“They keep tellin people that but nobody cares anyway. Do it.” Wonho glanced at Wonwoo for help but the dark eyes just looked at him with curiosity. So much for that. “I'll help you, look!” Seokwon grabbed the blue stone rings and pulled them over Wonho's hands without further ado.

Hyungwon had been right, against all expectations Wonho felt different. Like a weight was lifted from him, thrown to the side to let him breathe properly. He inhaled, felt something that wasn't there since he woke up, since he wore those bracelets. So this was what a mutation felt like? He wanted to try it out, knowing that there was something inside him he had no memory of. “But how do I use it?” Sirens went off in his head. He was not supposed to use it, Minghao had said so. He wanted to, though.

“You need to concentrate on it. You can feel the flow, right? It's like blood, it's a vital part of your being and you can control it to your liking. It might be hard to channel it now because you can't remember...Uh...”

“I'll try.” Seokwon fell silent and Wonho closed his eyes, trying to feel the energy cursing through his veins. But it was so fast and he did not know where to focus on. He peeked at his fingertips as Seokwon sat down again. If it was electricity there'd be lightnings, right? Maybe visualizing it helped?

A few more moments of silence passed until Wonwoo spoke up. “Maybe you need to remind yourself of something related to it?”

Seokwon nodded licking his lips. “The facilities, Wonho. Try to think of them.”

The facilities. White rooms, white corridors. A red siren. The urge to run. The urge to return and get somebody else out. _Get me another time but not now!_ He wanted to run back and find him. Protect him. Free him.

Wonho could feel something tingling in his hands, triggered by the memory. _I need to find him. I need to go back and find him. I'll find him._ He felt like his gaze was drawn to the dim lamp hanging from the ceiling and before he could speak up about the feeling in his hands a lightning, white and blinding, shot towards the light bulb. It was just a moment, you could miss it just by blinking and then it passed.

And everything was dark. Not as in unconscious dark but just...dark.

Wonho's hands were shaking, the tingling now gone as he clenched his hands into fists, eyes wide and staring into the dark room. What had happened?

Seokwon let out an impressed whistle, quick to return the bracelets to their rightful place around Wonho's wrists. “Yeah...let's not try that again any time soon, I guess.”

Wonwoo agreed pushing his glasses further up his nose while climbing down from his bed and lighting a single small candle. “Tell no one and get a new light bulb, Seokwon. It's basically your fault.”

“My fault?! I didn't- Ugh, whatever.” He was about to leave when the door suddenly opened and Hyungwon stepped in with a plate in his hands and a frown on his face.

“Total blackout. You don't happen to know anything about that?”

Seokwon shot a glance at Wonho, then at Wonwoo who was holding the candle and started stammering. “Uh, I...We didn't...you know, we didn't mean t-to-”

Hyungwon sighed, barely illuminated by the weak candle light but the amused smirk was still more than visible. “Get going and try to help, you idiot.” Seokwon eyed the plate for a moment, then grabbed a piece of chocolate from it before pushing past Hyungwon mumbling of everything not actually being his fault. “He edged you on, didn't he?”, Hyungwon asked still grinning as he placed the food he brought on the night stand but Wonho could not reply.

His hands were still shaking, the lightning burned into his memory, sparks flying, then silence. He had done this. He had actually just fried their entire power system because he wasn't careful. Fuck, he could have killed someone with the high voltage, probably. Thin and long fingers curled around his shaking hands, their coolness not really getting through to him.

“Wonwoo, do something, he's in shock.”

“If I calm him down it will only return full force later, no, won't work.”

“Fuck. Alright, go after Seokwon, I'll calm him. Wonho, look at me.” His head was turned to look straight into Hyungwon's big eyes and he tried hard to find his voice. The door was opened and shut again, Wonwoo's steps echoing in the corridor. _Calm down._ It was just the shock of the extent of what he could do. He could literally shoot lightnings, apparently. He had seen it himself. Felt it. “Wonho, snap out of it. You're alright, aren't you? Get your mind back here, yes?”

He blinked a couple of times, traced Hyungwon's jawline with his eyes, took in the silver hair slightly shimmering in the flame of the candle. Nobody had been hurt, he was just being an idiot, so he forced himself to breathe calmly and even managed to nod after a few moments of silence. Or had it been minutes? “I'm alright. Sorry.”

Hyungwon's body relaxed and a smile stretched his lips as he patted Wonho's thigh with one hand while rubbing circles on his back with the other. “Much better. Now eat something, you must be absolutely low on sugar. I brought you some leftovers from dinner and a bit of chocolate, I want you to eat them all.”

Wonho watched as the lanky man reached for the plate and placed it in his hands with cool fingers ghosting over his again. “You seem like you take care of weirdos all the time.”

“You're not a weirdo”, Hyungwon chuckled, eyes falling on the arm wrapped in gauze. “Want me to help with your arm a little?”

“Weren't you afraid of the blood when I woke up? That was you, right?” He decided to start on the rice first, unsure of whether he could keep anything else inside at the moment.

“Yeah, about that, I really can't stand seeing blood. Once it's dried I'm good but the liquid red stuff? Hell no”, Hyungwon replied quietly while drawing patterns on the gauze, then he smiled. “What a poor excuse of a healer, right?”

“Healer?” He was about to make a sarcastic comment about sparkly healing powers when Hyungwon already started unwrapping the wounded arm and put his hand over the crusted skin.

“It's difficult to explain but let's just say I can make your skin grow together again. Simple as that.” The wound started itching and Wonho wanted to scratch at it so bad but Hyungwon's fingers around it prevented him from doing so. “Every mutant has a transmitter they need to get rid of on their run. It's like a lighthouse guiding the authorities to them if they keep it. It hurts but it's for the best.” Hyungwon removed his fingers, not even a crack in the pale white skin anymore.

“It's like magic”, Wonho whispered only to have his mouth stuffed with more rice.

“A mutation, Wonho. We're no normal human beings and that's all there is to it.” It was quiet for a moment until the door opened again and Wonwoo came in with a new light bulb, exchanging it with the old one. He seemed to sense the heavy topic hanging in the air but did not comment on it, informing them of the situation instead. Electricity would be back in a minute and Seokwon returned with exhaustion on his face when the light finally switched on again. Cold and white.

Hyungwon pulled himself up into his bunk while Seokwon seemed to remember something. “Y'know I thought about our names again and I realized we all have a _won_ in our names. Crazy, isn't it? Like in that book you recommended, Wonwoo, we're all four won!”

Wonwoo burst out into laughter and Wonho could only glance at Hyungwon not knowing what the fuck the other was talking about until Wonwoo could collect himself again. “That's 'all for one', Seokwon. It's got nothing to do with names and means that the characters will always help each other out.”

Hyungwon facepalmed with a chuckle of his own. “The Musketeers, really?”

Seokwon shrugged, ears running red as he spoke quietly. “Sounds about right to me.” Wonho kept eating silently until the entire plate was empty. He could have eaten much more but it was enough for the moment and sleep was about to capture him anyway so he just put the plate to the side and lay down on the bed. The other three started a discussion on that book they had apparently all read laughing together every now and then but he let his fingers run over his healed arm trying to sort the chaos of information in his head. There was no scar left, not even a scratch marring his skin.

_A mutation, Wonho. That's all there is to it._

He knew it was true, remembered the lightning shooting from his hand and a shiver ran down his spine. He didn't like that...ability. He could hurt people with it, it felt like something had happened before, in his past he did not remember. He had to find that voice he actually _did_ remember, it was a male voice, calm and somewhat familiar. He would find him and ask him about himself.

Wonho had to gather his strength and stop being freaked out by everything happening around him. The first step was to find out why he had been in that facility and why everybody here seemed to be the same. He would ask Hyungwon as soon as he woke up the next day.

And with that thought, he drifted off into a thankfully dreamless slumber.

 

He woke up with the room being completely dark, no sound other than his own breathing audible. It appeared that Wonho was alone but what time was it? He could not tell for there were no windows at all. He carefully made his way to the door and pulled it open when his stomach growled. He didn't know how but he had to find Hyungwon or, preferably, the kitchen. Thankfully the corridor's light was turned on and Wonho poked along the walls hoping to find someone. A petite girl crossed his path soon enough, hair a blonde bob and smile immediately appearing on her face.

“You must be the new guy everybody's talking about. Got lost?” It was a warm voice, very welcoming.

“K-kind of. I'm looking for Hyungwon to eat. Uh, something to eat. Not to eat Hyungwon.”

“You're weird. No need to be nervous, I'm Seoryoung and the kitchen is that way, if you take two lefts you'll find it. Hyungwon should be there as well, he likes to sit by the stove because he gets cold easily.”

Seoryoung smiled at him once more before taking her leave and Wonho followed her instructions. Straight ahead then two lefts. Easy enough. Every corridor looked the same, he was wondering how he was ever supposed to find his way without having to ask anybody. _It's not like you're staying here for long._ Right, he had to go find the voice. He could not allow himself to stay longer than necessary, getting used to the containers was no priority.

He entered the kitchen painted in whites and greens to find Hyungwon and Seokwon sitting at one of the makeshift tables. Hyungwon was still wearing his white knit sweater hugging himself and looking like he was going to fall asleep any second. He seemed a bit like a baby you had forced to wake up, eyes half-closed and face puffy, it had Wonho snort. No wonder Hyungwon had called him a grandpa if he was being like this. “Morning.”

Seokwon got up signaling him to sit down instead and started rummaging through the cupboards. “Good to see ya awake, you were sleeping like dead. Could rival Hyungwon's deep sleep.”

“Look, I'm just enjoying sleep as long as I can”, Hyungwon groaned in reply but a slight smirk made clear that he wasn't all that serious, “The longer I sleep the less I have to be around you.”

“To think I'd call you my friend.” Seokwon shook his head with a laugh and placed a bit of rice and soup in front of Wonho. “I'll go wash up, don't trust this guy, Wonho, he'll play ya.”

“Will remember”, he just answered and he was alone with Hyungwon again.

“Did you sleep well?”, the taller asked watching Wonho eat.

“I was too tired to even dream, apparently. I slept like a log. What time is it?”

“It's three in the afternoon.” Wonho almost choked on his rice, coughing his lungs out but Hyungwon just shrugged. “It was around midnight when you came to, so you slept for...don't know, fourteen hours, maybe. You must've been very exhausted. Your arm's alright?”

Eyes fell on the impeccable skin and Wonho nodded. “It's like there never was a wound in the first place. Fourteen hours, fuck, I should have made myself useful or something.”

Hyungwon leaned his head against the wall to his right. “There isn't much to do here anyway. We're just vegetating.”

“Then...why are you staying here? You must have a home, somewhere, right? And a-” He stopped. A family. Every human had a family, but how come Wonho did not remember his own? Mother? Father? _It's the amnesia, it should be._

“A family? Wonho, you don't remember having one, do you now?” Hyungwon's eyes turned hard at his words and Wonho shook his head, abandoning his food to hear him out. “We're mutants, Wonho. Why do you think you were in a facility and _ran away_?”

His voice had grown dangerously quiet, a hiss even, but Wonho didn't understand. “I...I wanted to ask you about that.”

“Then let me tell you something.” Hyungwon stood up to look down on him, nails digging into the tabletop. “We are nothing but a bunch of freaks to them. To those without powers. A mutant child never gets to see its parents, is raised and educated in a facility. It is trained, manipulated and brainwashed into believing it never had parents. We're a threat, Wonho. Uncontrollable, unnatural.” Wonho feared Hyungwon might break the table, fingers turning white from the pressure as he leaned down to his face. “They keep us under lock and key in white rooms. Experiment on us like animals. We don't have a home. Can't go and see our families. We're machines to them. Useful at best.”

 _We don't have a home._ Wonho stared into Hyungwon's furious eyes, rendered speechless by the sudden change in attitude. He didn't want to eat anymore, swallowing hard. “Then this place-”

“Is a refuge for those who ran away. We're not supposed to even think about family. Home. Friends. They try to erase all these things from our minds but the heart feels empty if there's nothing to love. And every being is curious by nature. So some of us start thinking. Questioning. And before they know it, we're running from them.”

“Do they know about this place?”

“We would be dead if they did. You can be glad you made it here in one piece.” Hyungwon sighed and closed his eyes for a couple of seconds to calm down. “Eat up, your body needs it.”

He glanced at the bowl of soup pushing it away. “I'm-I'm not hungry anymore. So, what will you do in the future? You can't stay here doing nothing forever, right?”

Hyungwon fidgeted with his overly long sleeve as he chewed on his lower lip. “I guess I'll have to. Where would I go?”

 _A life in hiding?_ Wonho couldn't imagine anything like it for himself. There had to be something they could do. “Are all of us put into facilities for their entire life?”, he asked brows knitting together. “Wouldn't be a gain for them, right?”

“You're right, there's some mutants they use for factories or other work if their mutation proves to be useful but there's no exception when it comes to spending your childhood in a lab. Why'd you ask?”

“For now? Mere curiosity.” Wonho was wondering whether he had been put to work as well or if he really had spent over twenty years in those white and unsettling rooms he remembered. In either case he wanted to see those labs again, wanted to create an image of the situation for himself. It felt so unjust to keep them under lock and key for the sole reason that they were born with some mutation.

 _Mutants._ What an ugly word.

Hyungwon's shoulders dropped a bit, anger replaced by something like sadness, hopelessness maybe. “It's a harsh world out there. You won't be able to change that.”

“Sounds like no one ever tried”, Wonho mumbled before eyeing his soup and rice with a sigh. He had to eat. He could think while eating. Hyungwon seemed to sense that their conversation was more or less over, pity in his eyes.

“I'll be outside to get some fresh air. You'll find the exit if you follow the second corridor on the right, yeah? Dig in!”

“Sure.” Despite his height he looked so small when he left. _Where would I go?_ Wonho wished he could help. Something inside him told him he should, _had to_ do something.

He'd ask Seungcheol about it once he was up and running again. He had to eat. He had to think.

And he had to find the voice.

 

 


	2. Mutants don't break into buildings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wonho decides it's time to act and thanks to a couple of rash decisions, he gets to prove himself much faster than he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh there's, like, a very quick cut in this and I hope y'all don't mind too much, I'm just trying to keep the story going as fast as I can so it doesn't end up being an epic like Delphinium.
> 
> I hope you like this chaos of rash decisions :'))

“What do you mean, _you don't have a plan_?”

“It means that we will most certainly not go out into a world that is out for our damn blood, Wonho!”

He couldn't believe this was Seungcheol's actual answer. He had kept thinking about Hyungwon's words. About how he didn't think there was a place for them in the world. He had talked to Seokwon about something similar, then Wonwoo, then Minghao but their replies were the same: They were meant to hide themselves in the dark containers, hoping that nobody would find them and making themselves believe this was freedom.

“You think hiding here is the only option you have?” He had mentioned it sitting by the campfire on his second day at the refuge and the people sitting around them were nervously shifting in their seats. Looking to the ground to hide their sadness from prying eyes. “What about going out to talk to, I don't know, the authorities?”

Seungcheol groaned as if that was the most stupid question he had heard in years. Maybe it was. “I know you don't remember a thing but just try imagining it. We're showing our faces to the world. We as in facility runaways. Mutants. Time bombs made of unknown energy. And you think they'd talk to us like they're not afraid? We scare them. Our powers scare them so we're not even given a chance to negotiate.” He snorted at the mere thought of it. “Talking to the authorities, yeah right. I'd like to see you try.”

Wonho rose to his feet to glare at Seungcheol, standing right in front of him. “So you're telling me doing nothing is any more helpful in that matter?”

“I'm not saying it's helpful, Wonho, it's _safe._ There is no way to turn the tables just because you feel unjustly treated.”

“We're nothing without our powers and they know how to take them. It's hopeless”, the girl with the blonde bob cut from the day prior whispered quietly. Seungcheol nodded, agreeing with her right away.

“Seoryoung is right, what good can we do without what makes us different? Who are we to make demands, we're just a handful of rogue mutants, why don't you understand?”

“What if there were more of us, they'd _have_ to hear us out!”, Wonho retorted, biting back tears of frustration. Why did they not know their own worth? Why didn't they want to fight for it? He stepped even closer, feeling like slamming his forehead against Seungcheol's full force but he also doubted that it would be a good move now. “Do you really think wasting away in these containers waiting for Death to take us is the best we can do?”

Seungcheol's nose was all scrunched up, usually big eyes dangerously narrow. “It's better than dying on a battlefield.”

“But is it?” Wonho stepped back with a hiss, nails digging into the palms of his hands to keep him grounded. “This is not the life I want. Not for me and not for anybody else. I want us to be able to go wherever we want, to meet our families and make friends of all kinds. I don't want to die thinking I could have been able to make a difference. I don't want to be out while others still suffer in the facilities.” He looked into the eyes of the bystanders, shocked, pitying, sad, understanding. They were all different from each other. “I want all of us to have a place in this world and I won't die a coward.”

He barely registered how Seungcheol's fist collided with his jaw, finding himself on the ground right after. “Your vision is pure madness.” It hurt but it didn't kill him, so he got to his feet again. Was that blood in his mouth? “Go, I'm not holding you, not holding _anyone_. But you'll go without me.”

Wonho clenched his teeth to keep himself from saying anything else that would only rile the leader of that lot up even more. No, Seungcheol's mind was set but so was his when he turned towards the containers.

“I'll go alone if I must.”

 

It burned. Wonho couldn't help it, he started crying as soon as he got to the room he shared with the other Wons. _All for one._ He wanted to laugh but his cheek hurt and salty tears were flowing into the slight crack in his dry lip. It just burned. They were all hopeless to the extent that they did not even consider putting up a fight. Quick steps were approaching the room and Wonho pressed his palms against his eyes to stop the tears. He shouldn't be a crybaby but he was, no matter the front he put up.

The door opened to reveal Hyungwon's slim frame, approaching slowly like you'd do it with a wounded animal. “I'd say you snapped out there but that would be an understatement”, he chuckled in an attempt to lighten the mood but to no avail. Wonho kept trying to calm down packing the bag he had found in the morning with a set of spare clothes Minghao had given him. He felt like he was using their kindness but he didn't have anything on him. He could return the favor by achieving something, maybe. By making a change.

Hyungwon cleared his throat ripping Wonho out of his thoughts. “You're really leaving?”

The tears dried up slowly but surely and Wonho sniffled rubbing a sleeve over his eyes before turning towards the tall male. “It's all I can do for those who are still hidden in facilities and factories. I'd feel bad if I didn't at least try to get them out.” _Get me another time but not now_. He'd go and get that voice for sure.

He sighed and offered Hyungwon his hand with what was meant to be a reassuring smile. “I'm glad I met you, Hyungwon. Your ability is extraordinary and you're really kind. Thanks for helping me.”

Hyungwon eyed the hand with disbelief written all over his face, directing his eyes towards Wonho's shortly after. “You're joking, right?”

He hesitated unsure of what the other meant. “Well, I won't stay here, so I just thought I should say goodbye-”

“What makes you think I'm not going with you?”

_What?_ Wonho's brows furrowed, fingers clenching around the backpack strap. “Going with me?”

“Exactly. Seokwon as well though I doubt he'll hold out for long, he's a child. And I need to take care of you, didn't think you'd be one to cry all that easily-”

“No, wait, you want to go with me?” Wonho didn't know why he panicked but he felt happy at the same time and it overpowered most of his doubts. Also, if anybody was a child in there group it was Hyungwon himself. “I don't really know where to go though, I don't know where to start either-”

“We'll find out on the way, then”, Hyungwon shrugged with a smile. “Seokwon is in the kitchen to get us some food to start with, I've got a couple of coins and bills but I doubt it'd be enough to keep us fed for more than a few days. Give us ten minutes and we're good to go.”

Wonho couldn't believe what he was hearing and he tugged at his hair to make sure he wasn't imagining things. Two of his friends wanted to go with him without knowing what would await them. Three were better than one. “But why?”

“Seokwon was all about that 'all for one' thing he mentioned the other day, finding it cool that you're that courageous. And I admit your argument with Seungcheol was a bit of a wake up call.” Hyungwon drew patterns on the bed post, a nostalgic glint in his eyes that was gone a moment later. “I don't want to stay here losing my chance of making a change.”

“It's good to hear that”, Wonho whispered with a genuine smile and fighting the urge to hug his friend. Hyungwon looked so nervous but also determined and his childlike preference for soft and fluffy sweaters did not reduce the wish to protect him. He was a good guy and Wonho was glad he wanted to stick around. Oh and Seokwon as well.

“I stole lots of rice and soup, we'll feast for at least three days”, another the youngest announced upon barging into their room with a grin and Wonho finally gave in throwing an arm around Hyungwon and Seokwon each to pull them closer. It was awkward but he'd make it work.

“Thank you. Let's try to make a change, alright?”

They hugged back almost immediately, Hyungwon chuckling softly and Seokwon agreeing vehemently. “We won't just try, we'll  _do_ it. Step by step until we get there.”

A few more moments until they separated, Hyungwon and Wonho saying they'd wait by the entrance as Seokwon finished packing food and clothes. They ran into Seungcheol who eyed their bags with his lips pressed together. “So you're really going, huh?”

“I know you don't understand but maybe one day you will”, Wonho replied with a slight bow of his head. “I won't forget how kindly you helped me but it's time for me to go.”

“And you're taking two of my fledglings with you, I see”, the leader sighed upon seeing Seokwon round the corner. “I'll miss you guys.”

“Seungcheol, look, it's not that I didn't like it here-”, Hyungwon started but the other just waved it off with a smirk.

“It's fine. Go and don't look back, I can feel you really want this.”

“I do. Thank you for this past year.” They were just about to leave the container-fortress when Seungcheol called out to Wonho once more.

“Sorry about the punch. Looks nasty.”

Wonho let his fingertips graze the abused skin before shrugging. “I guess I needed that. Take care, Seungcheol. Tell the others I said bye and thanks for everything.” He waved shortly, then turned to walk past the campfire with Hyungwon and Seokwon. Nobody else came to accompany them.

They explained they had asked Wonwoo but he had been too afraid to come along. Wonho didn't mind. What they were going to do was nothing for the feeble-hearted, he could feel it. They didn't know where exactly they'd go first but it would be fine.

They were trying to change the world.

_Step by step until we get there._

_All for one._

 

Seokwon proved to be much more helpful than they could have foreseen. Wonho was beginning to wonder how he had managed to get a hold of some things in his bag. The mp3-player was just the cherry on top but Hyungwon and him knew better than to ask. Wonho was told that Seokwon was a master at thievery and only seconds later the small battery-driven device started giving off soft tunes. Next, he pulled out a map he had _borrowed_ from some girl (“It's not stealing if you intend to return it.”) and pointed out the location of the next city.

“Might be good to see for yourself if ya want to make a change, right?”, he noted. Knowing that they had to start with _some_ thing, Wonho agreed without much hesitation as they walked by the rural road they found on their way. “The city's name is Yeoju”, Seokwon mentioned, “A place with a facility further up north. It was the one I ran away from about four months ago.”

Wonho nodded understanding the slight discomfort he could sense in the other's words. “It must be tough for you, we...we could take a detour or something if you're uncomfortable-”

“No, we have to start somewhere”, he insisted much to Wonho's surprise. “If that's the closest facility, so be it. Yoonho, a friend of mine, ran with me back then.” Sadness overshadowed Seokwon's eyes as he continued. “They got him. Ya can't run if you're shot, can ya?”

Hyungwon was chewing on his lip listening in silence and Wonho could only caress their youngest's back trying to soothe him. “I'm sorry to hear that.”

“I will not stand for any more of this. I'll save as many as I can.”

“Don't worry, we will.”

They fell silent, walking side by side with the mp3 playing music like the atmosphere hadn't gotten more tense all of a sudden. Of course, if it was one of the closest facilities it was obvious that someone living in the containers had to come from there. Made Wonho wonder where he had been locked all those years, maybe he would find the voice there? He was dying of curiosity.

It was a boring walk, long and tiring with them hiding every time a car sped by, afraid to be recognized and caught. No random passer-by would realize they were mutants but one could never be careful enough.

They saw single houses, old and of traditional style and Wonho contemplated going there, knocking on the wooden door to ask the people about mutants. He wanted to hear what they thought of them but Hyungwon grabbed him by the arm as soon as he took a step in their direction, shaking his head. “It's better to lie low and not attract too much attention. I know it's improbable that they will find out right away but we're not normal. You may not remember things but we do. Seokwon and I cannot just...look at them and be all nice, do you understand?”

Seokwon looked at the ground chewing on the inside of his cheek. “I could try but I don't know man, for all we know they could all be as crazy as those researchers. I literally want to punch every normal human I see right away, it's not a good idea to go. You'd go alone.”

Wonho took a few deep breaths to think about the other two. Yes, they had been abused by facility workers before but did that mean every human was the same? _Give them time._ He sighed running a hand through his orange and blonde hair. They would have to meet humans in the city soon enough, it would just take something about ten hours for them to get there and he decided to comply. _Let them brace themselves, they remember everything._ “What did they do to you that it's so hard on you?”, he whispered quietly, Seokwon picking up on the words and deciding to tell him after a few minutes of silence.

“Let's walk while I tell you, yeah? Can't stay in one place for too long. Gotta be on the move.” That's how Seokwon told Wonho about the things he remembered from the facility, their experiments and the way they had treated him. There were a lot of pauses during which he just breathed as if to calm down. It had been traumatic, Wonho could easily tell from the tension of his posture.

The experiments were the worst.

“They tried to find out how long it takes for me to transform my skin into gold, that was the easiest part. Then they wondered what would happen if they took away a piece of it.” He licked his lips, fingers curling around his left wrist when he thought of the memory. “It didn't stay gold once detached from my body. And my arm would be missin' skin but they didn't care much about that side, doin' barely enough to stop the bleeding.”

“They literally cut out pieces from your arms?”, Wonho asked in disbelief only to receive a nod in reply.

“Their next idea was that maybe the time needed to transform my skin could be shortened in life threatening situations.” Seokwon chuckled dryly and stroked his arm softly. “Let me tell ya it didn't work. Not even when they brought out the knives and guns.” Wonho got goosebumps just hearing the story, he did not want to think about what it must have felt like for real.

“The scars on your arms...”, he started hesitantly, pointing a shaky finger at them.

“Yup, that's when I got 'em.” Wonho had seen the scars before but he hadn't made the connection. The dark and cruel connection. He hated everything about the facilities by then. He'd save as many people as he could, no matter what. He had to.

Hyungwon kept listening in silence and Wonho couldn't conclude whether he was angry, spacing out or just busy repressing his old memories himself. He couldn't tell why but he felt like asking Hyungwon about his memories then and there would have caused the other to lose his composure and he didn't want to see him angry any time soon. That one time at breakfast had been a sight to last for a while.

He didn't know how long they had been walking by the time a building appeared in the distance. It wasn't very tall but took up quite some space and reading the signs they could find on the road it appeared to be a factory for car parts, black smoke steadily rising into the skies. They reached the surrounding chain-link fence not much later and Wonho clawed at the material to try and catch a glimpse of the actual factory.

“Wonho? Look at this”, Hyungwon spoke for the first time since they had left pointing at a green sign.

“Mutant energy”, he read with a frown glancing at his friends who seemed equally confused.

“They really use us like we're some green energy stuff and promote it as _good_? Normal humans still manage to surprise ya”, Seokwon mumbled with a whistle and Hyungwon's fists clenched.

“It's inhumane.”

“It is.” Wonho looked at the factory again chewing on the inside of his cheek. _It's worth a try._ “That's why we're going to get them out.”

Seokwon's and Hyungwon's eyes widened in sync and Wonho couldn't help grinning while they kept looking at him like he was mad. “We're not going to raid a factory. Tell me we're not going to do that”, Hyungwon whispered urgently.

Wonho tried his best to remain unbothered but he couldn't deny that he was nervous as well even though it was his own idea. “What's the problem? If we don't start here we won't achieve a single thing anyway, am I not right? Seokwon, you said it yourself, we have to start _some_ where.”

“Dude, this is crazy.” Seokwon kept looking back and forth between him and Hyungwon in uncertainty before sighing. “Tell me ya have a plan.”

“Seokwon, no-”  
“Wonho is right, Hyungwon. We can't dream big if we don't even try the small stuff.”

“I don't know if you've noticed but there's only three of us.”

“And many more if we only manage to get in”, Seokwon retorted hastily. “Trust me with this one, it's what we have to do as a team.”

Hyungwon glanced at Wonho who was already thinking of a plan looking at the blue stone bracelets he was still wearing around his wrists. “That's it”, Wonho muttered playing with the cool material. “Hyungwon, you wait outside in case anything happens, Seokwon and I sneak in once the sun sets. I made the entire container shelter go into total blackout, I can do it again with this factory, I just need to get to the control room-”

“You want to risk your life and trust a mutation you only used once?”, Hyungwon asked in disbelief shaking his head. “We don't know anything about this building and you just want to barge into the control room like it's child's play?”

“That's exactly what I'm saying. See, the fact that the mutants are here and not in a facility means that they trust these mutants that they won't run on their own. There'll be only few guards compared to the real thing we'll face once we get to the facilities.”

“He's right. This sounds like a suicide squad, I know, Hyungwon”, Seokwon spoke up putting a hand on Hyungwon's shoulder, “but it's the only chance we've got. I want to try so you just stay put and let us do the work. I mean, you can still return to Seungcheol if you wanna.”

Wonho held Hyungwon's gaze and they looked at each other for a couple of seconds until the latter lowered his shoulders in defeat. “Fuck, I can't believe you really want to do this. Fine, I'll play the guard once you're inside so you'd better come out alive.”

“Sounds like a plan”, Wonho smiled ruffling through Hyungwon's hair and signaling them to come along. “Let's find someplace safe and eat. Can't let ourselves get caught because of a growling stomach, can we?”

 

It didn't take long for the sun to set, the sky turning a beautiful red that made Wonho's heart ache just by looking at it. The sky was so vast yet he didn't manage to even touch the clouds. He remembered saying something about that before, something he had said years ago coming back for no reason. _If I can't touch the clouds from here, I'll just learn how to fly._ It was a faint memory but it was there. Maybe things would come back to him with time, he just had to be patient. But there was a different task at hand. “Focus on your mission”, he mumbled to himself before turning to face Hyungwon and Seokwon, both shifting around in restlessness.

They had found a small ditch where a riverlet was flowing through the landscape through tunnels under the streets and thought it to be a good hiding place once they got out whoever was in that factory. It had been tense and quiet while they ate a bit of rice and Wonho constantly had to remind himself of the voice from his memories to keep calm. He had to be calm to help.

Seokwon was looking up at him expectantly earning himself a nod and what was meant to be a reassuring smile from Wonho. “Shall we get going, then?”

They had checked out the fence and found that part of it was rather old and rusty, easy to break even with just the butterfly knife Seokwon magically pulled from his bag. (Wonho really didn't want to know about how he got that one.) There were no visible surveillance cameras apart from those by the entrances and Wonho believed he could find a way around them, replaying the path again and again in his mind until he was certain.

Once the lights had been switched on in the building it was easy to tell the locations of people and the function of each room. The control room seemed to be behind those they could spot from the outside, further in the middle of the building but Seokwon said they'd be able to find it without any problems even if it was just for the simple purpose of keeping Hyungwon calm. That poor boy had been chewing on his nails ever since Wonho had explained his plan.

Now that they were actually going for the real thing, Wonho could feel his own heartbeat prominent in his chest but he couldn't allow himself any mistakes. They'd do just fine, get the mutants out and leave as quickly as they came. If the guards stepped in, well, they'd just have to take them out one way or the other.

As expected, the fence didn't pose the slightest problem, grid snapping at just a bit of pressure of the sharp blade and Seokwon smiled triumphantly swirling the knife around in his hand. They moved to the side where no camera was placed, crouching under an open window. There was no talking, no clicking of a keyboard or even the sound of someone breathing so Wonho risked a glance to find that the room was empty. _Perfect._ It wasn't like the guards would expect anyone to be as suicidal and break into a factory full of mutants. Wonho jumped into the room without a sound quickly followed by the other two and they made for the corridor in a hurry.

The rustling of paper caught Wonho's attention and he spun around with a start only to find Seokwon staring at some sheet with a chart on it. He turned it around and pointed at a certain column, then at the clock on the wall. The grid told them who had which shift to cover, less guards present starting from eight in the evening. It was just a few minutes past eight. “Perfect timing”, Seokwon mouthed with a grin but Hyungwon took a shaking breath, expression uncertain.

“Depends. They're probably still around, we should be extra careful.”

“Right, no useless attention-drawing. Let's keep moving”, Wonho mumbled in respons. Extra careful. If one called reinforcements it wouldn't take them long to return. They walked down the corridor to actually find the control room, sounds from the inside telling them that there were people inside. Hyungwon and Wonho moved to one side of the door while Seokwon knocked on it and stood on the other. A voice told them to come in twice but as they didn't open the door steps approached soon enough. It was a man of maybe thirty years wearing a lab coat but there was no time to keep staring as Seokwon slammed his head against that of the man, knocking him out efficiently. Wonho gave him a thumbs up before slamming the door open and taking the second guard out with a swift punch to the jaw.

“Good, very good”, he mumbled to distract himself from the guilt he felt at Hyungwon's disapproving gaze, concentrating on the scene in front of him. There were about six screens from the surveillance cameras and a bigger glass window to the main hall of the factory. “We must be quick before anybody sees us in here. Stay down”, he hissed while looking at the screens showing black and white images of people, some in black uniform, some in dirty sweaters. “Five more guards around, two more by the main entrance. I believe they carry guns. Mutants wear light clothing.”

“No bullet gets past my skin, don't worry, I'll protect everything that's not in a uniform”, Seokwon assured with confidence while crouching on the ground and staring at the fire escape plan.

“I'll wait by the side entrance once Wonho has taken down the electricity and you get the mutants there, alright?”, Hyungwon noted. “It's easier if you take this path to their quarters but I don't know about the guards and their positions.”

“They'll come here first once the power is down so you'd better make a run for it then, I don't know how long I can distract them but I'll try”, Wonho added as he fumbled with the bracelets.

Seokwon reached into his pocket to hand him the butterfly knife. “Take it, metal nails are just as effective, trust me.”

“Thanks Seokwon. Really, this wouldn't work if it were just the two of us.” They smiled at each other just for a moment before Wonho removed the blue stone rings from his wrists. Energy rushed through his veins like adrenaline, making him feel all the more powerful. “Now let's get this party started.”

Hyungwon peeked over his shoulder. “Do you know what you're doing?”

“Let's say I suggest you take a few steps back. Or wait outside, that'd be safer.” He could barely suppress the tremor of his voice but if the others noticed they didn't mention it, walking past the door in mere seconds with a few mumbles of good luck.

Wonho stared at the buttons, the screens, the keyboards and decided on the big generator in the middle of the room to put his palms on. He could do this, he'd done it before. He had to if he wanted to make a change. If he wanted to find someone who could help him with his memories. _Run, Wonho._ Yeah, that one. He tried to remember more, focused on the little details of the single memory. Cold hands had been cupping his face, thumbs softly stroking over his cheeks, so tender and caring but trembling with fear all the same. There was no way he would let the person who let him go rot in a facility. No, he was going to get him out, wherever he was and however long it might take.

“I'll find you.” _Come and get me, but not now._ “I'll come and get you.” He felt the power collect in his hands the way he had not even three days before. Desparate and strong. Electric.

_I'll save you and everyone else._

_If I can't touch the clouds from here I'll just learn how to fly._

Again things happened in slow motion, Wonho could watch as the lightnings shot from his fingertips, drilling into the gigantic computer and destroying whatever they found as he fell to the ground from the blowback. An explosion made him go deaf for a short while and he scrambled to his feet, bracelets securely stowed in his jacket pocket when smoke started to come from the screens. He heaved the unconscious guards from before under the desks and waited in the dark when the emergency lights switched on, red and so dim they weren't aiding much with visibility.

Shots rang through the air and the glass separating the room from the main hall shattered at the impact of a guard in black uniform jumping inside and over the control pad to seek out the source of the blackout. More shots came from the main hall and Wonho could hear metal on metal, probably when Seokwon's metal skin was hit by a bullet.

He didn't let himself think, flipping Seokwon's knife open and slamming it into the guard's arm before striking the back of his head with his elbow. The guard barely had enough time to make a sound when he already dropped to the ground, unconscious like his two colleagues and Wonho took the gun with him cleaning the knife on the black uniform. “I didn't want to hurt you but you wouldn't hesitate to shoot, would you?”, he mumbled before heaving himself onto the control pad and entering the main hall through the shattered window.

It was a vast hall and he quickly looked in the direction the shots had come from before to witness Seokwon running straight into the gunfire, bullets deflected by the metal his skin had been turned into. It looked impressive, if that wasn't a complete understatement and he had to force himself to look away and scan the rest of the hall. Three people on the ground, screaming and crawling away from the guards and their guns. Mutants who had been wounded when the fight started. “Fuck, Won, stay strong, I'll be right there!”

There was a group of people, maybe ten, maybe twelve, crouching in a corner with confusion and fear written all over their faces and Wonho knew it was his turn, coming to a halt by their side and crouching down. “Are all of you mutants?”, he asked a little out of breath and the anxious eyes directed towards him. The sound of bullets buzzing through the air grew fainter, fewer in number and the wheezing of guards who had been taken down reached his ears.

“There's more”, a voice said from the middle of the group. It belonged to a boy in his early twenties, narrow and intimidating eyes staring at him. “Why are you here?”

“I'm here to get you out.” Wonho saw the scratches on their arms, puncture wounds, bruises and traces of blood all over the visible skin – he could only imagine how they had been treated by the guards and in the facilities.

“Out?” The eyes widened just slightly, blinking in surprise. “Why?”

“Because we deserve to be free like every other living being, don't you think?”

“Wonho, hurry!”, Seokwon shouted from behind them upon hearing more steps and the cocking of guns. He sounded exhausted and frustrated, Wonho had to be fast.

“Come with us and you'll see the sunset, walk on grass, see the roads and cities. We'll make it happen.”

The mutant glanced at his fellow factory workers before asking: “How many of you are there?”

Wonho hesitated. It wouldn't be a good idea to tell them that it was just three of them, so he leaned closer. “That depends on how many of you help us now.”

The mutant nodded, determination in his eyes and he knew he had convinced him. “The name's Jooheon.” He pushed past Wonho, detached himself from the others and started running towards Seokwon to land a punch on one of the guards, turning to the next a second later with something red licking at his fingers. _Fire. His power has to be fire._

Wonho let out a quick laugh of relief, then turned to the remaining mutants only to earn quiet nods and uncertain glances. “Someone's waiting by the side entrance, his name is Hyungwon and his hair is silver. He'll get you out of here.” They moved, hesitantly at first, then quickly and without allowing themselves to think twice.

Jooheon and Seokwon had taken out most of the guards in the meantime and Wonho screamed at them to get out of the way firing a shot at the last black uniform standing until they dropped to the ground holding their leg. No shots followed and Wonho allowed himself to breathe when Seokwon cursed under his breath picking up a small rectangular object. “Shit, they called reinforcements, one had a phone on call. Probably called back the shift that ended just now, we don't even have five minutes then.”

Wonho took a few shaking breaths looking at Jooheon. “You said there's more?”

“Five more in the quarters”, he confirmed with a nod, eyes piercing like they were bullets themselves. “I'll lead the way.”

The red light was unsettling, barely illuminating the dark building enough to see one's own hands, but Jooheon maneuvered them through the factory with a precision only one who worked there for a long time could bring up. It was amazing. Wonho wanted to ask about his powers but figured he should keep his head focused on their task at hand, small talk was for when they were not running against time. They found said quarters within one minute, Jooheon quickly explaining the situation to the mutants while counting them. “Where's Gun?”

“He went to look for you when the power shut down”, somebody replied and Jooheon glanced at Wonho in shock.  
“We need to find Gunhee, please-”

“Wonho, we don't have time for this”, Seokwon hissed, “we're lucky if we make it out alive at this point.”

He took a few controlled breaths. “Let's go back, Jooheon, where could your friend be?”

“The main hall, he probably took another path so we didn't run into each other.”

Wonho nodded walking ahead. “We'll pass it if we want to get out anyway, let's go. Is that everybody?”

Jooheon let out a sigh of relief, quick to catch up with Wonho's fast pace. “Yes, we're nineteen in total. Were. Three got shot.” Their steps echoed from the walls and seemed to grow even louder once they reached the main hall that had been mentioned. “You can keep going, I'll quickly search the area for Gun and meet you later-” His sentence was cut short when a bright light blinded them out of nowhere. Wonho hadn't heard any steps, the buzzing of electricity was still absent and there was no fire, just horrifyingly bright light and a husky voice calling Jooheon's name.

“Gun, fuck, turn that off, you imbecile!”, Jooheon screamed in panic while pushing Seokwon towards the exit they had agreed on. “Go, they'll be here any second, I'll get him.”

“Seokwon, take the others and go. If you can, take the wounded, I'll follow with the last two here”, Wonho said, thankful that his friend complied without much more than a frustrated look on his face. Or he thought that was it, the light was too bright to be able to open one's eyes to the fullest.

“See ya in a minute.”

“In a minute, right”, he agreed and ran after Jooheon just when the light faded away into nothingness like it was never there in the first place. Shit, he was blind, eyes taking their sweet time to adjust to the returning darkness, minimal light didn't cut it. “Jooheon, where'd you go?”, he hissed with his eyes closed as heavy steps approached. _Reinforcements._

“I'm here!”, the other replied out of breath apparently dragging someone along. “I know this sounds stupid but close your eyes and run.”

Wonho didn't understand, panic beginning to form in his chest and threatening to spill over. “What do you mean, close your eyes and-”

Fingers intertwined with his pulling him along with urgency. “Just shut up and fucking do it!” The reinforcements caught sight of them, screaming at them to stop where they were and shooting into their direction. Bullets flew past them as they started running. “Please, close your eyes. _Now_!”

Wonho groaned in frustration closing his eyes just when another light illuminated the hall blinding the unprepared guards. Thank God he had followed Jooheon's order, he'd be worried about never being able to see again if he had kept his eyes open again. More shots were fired and a sudden sharp pain rushed through Wonho's side causing him to scream and drop to his knees.

“Shit!”, Jooheon's exclaimed as he turned around to send a wall of fire down the hall, several chairs, instruments and clothes catching fire. The person they had looked for before, Gunhee, knelt by Wonho's side in a rush.

“Look, I don't know what's going on but just get up, we almost made it”, the husky voice whispered urgently, arms wrapping around him to support him. Gunhee seemed to be rather strong having almost no difficulties with pulling him to his feet. Wonho's senses cleared up a bit and he forced himself to breathe calmly.

“I'm alright.” He wasn't but he would be. It seemed like a bullet had grazed his side but no severe damage was suffered. Nodding to himself he decided to ignore the pain of each movement. It was a shock, nothing else. “Yes, I'm alright.”

Jooheon's fire spread more and more keeping the guards at bay and they had enough time to run towards the exit. Wonho's vision was blurry and slightly dark around the edges but the adrenaline made him function and he felt like he could finally breathe again when they were past the door, the vast evening sky smiling at them from above.

He held on to Gunhee's shoulder, afraid of tripping and falling with his knees wobbling like after an earthquake when he caught sight of Hyungwon just a few steps away. The tall male sighed in relief but spotted the wound at Wonho's side right away falling into step with them as they made for the fence Seokwon and the other mutants were currently threading through.

“You're hurt, shit, Wonho, what happened?”

“Later. Run!”

They had done it, Wonho couldn't believe it. Sure they would be dead if it hadn't been for Jooheon's determination and yes, he had kind of been shot but the three of them had successfully executed their plan, now all that was left for them to do was run and hide until the guards gave up and handed the case over to their superiors, which would take a while.

He didn't have any resources left but Wonho laughed until he was short on oxygen, running with Gunhee and Hyungwon by his sides, Seokwon, Jooheon and the others just a few steps ahead.

“Slow down!”, Hyungwon ordered loudly once they managed to reach the small ditch they had used to hide earlier and Seokwon turned in surprise, only now noticing that Wonho was hurt. It was one of the last things Wonho could see before his brain decided it had done enough for the moment and turned off, consciousness fading gradually until he disappeared into a pit of darkness.

They had done it.

They had taken a step.

He just hoped they wouldn't get caught while he was knocked out.

 

 

༻ x ༺

 

Another day, another white room, another mutant.

It hadn't been long since they had put him closer to the main research facility but he felt like his amount of work had doubled in just that short amount of time. Their experiments seemed to be getting out of hand these days and he watched without emotion as the mutant tore at the ties restraining him. This one was weak, he was crying already.

“I want to meet my family!”

_What a stupid wish._ “Mutants don't have a family”, he replied calmly, almost pitying his opponent for his delusion. The mutant he had treated an hour before had talked about going to the city and making friends and he didn't know which was more ridiculous.

Mutants do not have families.

Mutants do not go to the cities.

Mutants shouldn't make friends.

“We have a family! Listen, we can find them, just let me go!”, the mutant tried again but to no avail.

Mutants are alone, each of them on their own in the end. He couldn't think of another scenario that didn't involve penalties so he raised his hands and placed them on the sides of the mutant's head. _Mutants have to be alone._ The mutant started thrashing around, screaming in pain though it was just a fracture of what he could have done to him. _It's better to be alone._

But was it really?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JesterFesta on Twitter and Tumblr, come find me ^o^


	3. Mutants don't look at the stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Wonho has to take the lead but kind of is a crybaby himself. Hyungwon doesn't even bother. Jooheon pretends to be stronger. (Spoiler: he isn't.)  
> A chapter of weakness and understanding. (Probably not the last either)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're over 20k, things coming along well!  
> This one's more of a character building chapter, I hope you enjoy! (Sorry for not updating yesterday btw)

“Seokwon, can't you try to keep the others calm? If they keep talking this loud we'll be caught.”

“How can I keep them calm when I'm not calm myself, you try it first, will ya?”

“If they want to run on their own, why don't you let them?”  
“If they get caught they'll be questioned until they explain what happened and who is at fault. They've seen Wonho, Seokwon and me, it would only be a matter of time until they'd know who to look for.”

“Then what's your plan for us?”  
“We have to get ya back to our shelter, it's the safest we've been since we broke out of our facilities?”

“But we'll let Wonho decide what exactly we're to do, it was his plan to get you out.”

A longer pause. “His plan, huh?”

Wonho heard the ongoing conversation, sounds dull at first, then more and more clear in his ears and he tried to move, the pain in his side causing him to groan.

“He's awake, oh God, Wonho do you hear me?” Hyungwon's face sounded urging and he opened his eyes to find his friend's worried ones staring back at him. “You alright?”

“The guards?”, he asked the first thing that came to his mind but Hyungwon shushed him with a smile.

“Haven't found us yet though they're searching the area. We can be glad they didn't look here yet.”

It was still dark, the moon being one of the few lights illuminating the scenery. The street lamps might as well have been turned off for all he could tell. “Everybody alright?” He turned his head a little to catch a glimpse of Seokwon and Jooheon sitting to his left, the sound of people talking a few steps away.

Jooheon nodded after a short moment of hesitation. “The three wounded didn't make it, we had to leave them behind but everyone else is fine.”

“Three?” Wonho clenched his eyes shut again feeling tears well up in them. His voice was high-pitched and barely composed when he spoke. “I killed three?”

“No, it was the guards. They shot them-”

“If we hadn't broken in nobody would have gotten hurt-”

“And we would still be slaves working in a factory and being ordered around by people who think they're better than us. Shit, Wonho, we owe you our lives. We may have lost three but there's still sixteen of us here now and we're more or less alright. We can't thank you enough”, Jooheon insisted, his hand grabbing Wonho's shoulder, shaking it softly.

His words were the truth but Wonho's stomach kept twisting at the thought of three people losing their lives because _he_ wanted to free them. It was fucked up. _It's a fucked up world._ “I think the bleeding has stopped”, a husky voice noted and Wonho found that it belonged to the last one they had saved, Gunhee. His hair was dark brown, facial features intimidating except for the warm brown eyes staring at Hyungwon from under his fringe. He looked well trained and Wonho remembered how easily he had been lifted up by the other when he had tripped. He looked so normal compared to Jooheon with his sharp jawline, piercing eyes and orange-brown hair.

“I'll get to the healing then”, Hyungwon interrupted his thoughts, covering Wonho's side with big hands. “It might burn a little this time. Hurts more when it's closer to the heart.”

Wonho didn't dare looking at the wound – it had to be bad if it had caused him to fall unconscious – so he just nodded and clenched his teeth when the itchy feeling returned, body screaming at him to scratch the sore spot. He raised his hand but Hyungwon's knee forced it down again by the wrist, Jooheon catching on and pressing the other arm to the ground. “We have to move”, Wonho pressed through his teeth, feeling how the skin grew back together. “I can't hold you back-”

“I can't have you lying around here, can I?”, Hyungwon retorted with a hiss, sweat forming on his forehead. The closing of bigger wounds needed more energy it seemed and Wonho felt stupid for getting hurt in the first place. “Seokwon, quiet the mutants down, please.”

A wild mix of 'shh' and 'quiet' whispers came from behind him as it grew silent except for the small river flowing a stone's throw away. Jooheon put his free hand on Wonho's forehead, touch foreign but cold and calming. “You weren't even out for half an hour, we have time”, he muttered reassuringly. “Really, thank you for getting us out of there.”

“Don't thank me until you're safe”, he groaned back, pain growing into a faint buzz in the background. Hyungwon removed his hands, panting slightly and examining his work in satisfaction.

“Alright, should work just fine, try to sit up.” Wonho did as he was told, no pain to be felt at the movement anymore and he was awed.

“This is amazing, Hyungwon, it's a gift I'd pay anything for just to have it.”

“We can't all be Thor”, the other retorted with a smirk but he didn't know what a _Thor_ was, too afraid to sound stupid by asking. “What's your plan for us, what are we to do now? It will be hard to move towards the city in a group this large and I think it would be better to bring the mutants to the shelter, at least for a while.”

Wonho ran his fingers over his side, still amazed at the slight tingling feeling appearing whenever he touched the part healed mere seconds before. “I agree, we're too many but I had hoped some would want to come with us. It can't only be the three of us if we want to get into the facilities.” He glanced at Jooheon who was listening to them attentively, pout prominent on his lips.

“You want to go back to those hell holes? Not that I'd mind but I'd rather you tell us why exactly you're doing this before we decide on anything.”

Pushing his hair back Wonho turned to look at the other mutants they had freed, anxious and curious young boys. There were no girls as he noticed, probably because the job at the factory wasn't considered suitable for them.

“The three of us want to take the first step towards the independence of mutants.” He still hated that word. “We were clearly outnumbered today yet we're still here, alive f-for...for the most part.” _Three didn't make it._ “I didn't mean to get anyone killed today.” He could feel a tear or two run down his face but he didn't bother removing them. So what if he was a crybaby? “But we got all of you out and it was just three of us free mutants. I believe we can actually make a change if we just find the courage to stand up for ourselves.”

He looked at Hyungwon and Seokwon receiving encouraging smiles from each. “I want to free those like us from the facilities they are being tortured at. I'm optimistic and you should be too. We are looking for people to join us on that mission.”

A heated discussion broke out but was quickly quieted down by a shush of Jooheon's. They weren't sure. They wanted to help, had seen for themselves that it could work today, but they were scared, of course they were. Years in chains and suddenly somebody freed them only to demand them to put on new ones. He didn't intend to be like _them_ though.

“It's no problem if you don't come with us, I understand that this is pretty much to take in. There's a shelter with many runaway mutants, a few hours to the south-east. The guy in charge is called Seungcheol and he'll make sure to keep you safe for however long you want. But hiding is not the life I chose for myself, I will keep fighting for what should be a matter of course for every living being. I'll keep fighting for us. For our freedom.” _Come and get me but not now! - I'll come back, I promise._ “I promised somebody I would.”

Unsure glances were exchanged, a few words mumbled before the majority of mutants lowered their heads. “I don't want to risk my life for something that's out of our reach.”

“Yeah, it's not like we're an army.”

“What good could a couple of fire and metal mutants do?”

Wonho clenched his teeth having expected a reaction of that sort but still not ready for a rejection of his own idea to that extent. “I just thought...we could at least try.” It was like they didn't even think it good that he had gotten them out of the factory. He felt wronged, thought they should just have stayed slaves if it was going to be like this only to feel bad a second later. At least they decided on their own and didn't follow blindly. It was something positive, wasn't it?

“I'll support you as far as I can.”

Jooheon stepped forward with a reassuring smile obviously seeing the conflict in Wonho's eyes but Gunhee grabbed his hand in panic. “Heon, no, I want to be safe. How often did we talk of this?”, he whispered urgently, Jooheon's face falling to make room for utter disbelief.

“Then we should make the world a safer place, don't you think?”

“No I don't. We wanted to go somewhere far away and start over far away from this factory and now you-” Gunhee took a trembling breath swallowing hard. “Now you want to leave me?”

The other's small eyes widened just enough for Wonho to notice, piercing gaze drilling holes into his friend's skull. Disbelief turned into disappointment and he forced his hand out of Gunhee's grasp. “I didn't think you were such a coward, Gun.”

“You can't expect me to be strong after all those years-”

“I've been here for almost twice as long and you think you can talk about _all those years_?”, Jooheon hissed, almost growled. He looked like an angry kitten, somewhat cute yet dangerous once riled up enough. Wonho liked the fighting spirit, the determination. “This is not the Gunhee I got to know.” The mumbles of the crowd had quieted down, everybody watching in intense silence as Gunhee's expression turned into one of pain, frustration and defeat.

“I had just hoped we could take a break.”

“Then take it. But don't talk to me unless you decide to be yourself again.” Jooheon distanced himself further, walking past Wonho with a snort. He watched him trudge down the small ditch to crouch by the water with his face hidden from their eyes, looking at his own reflection and sulking, probably.

Hyungwon put a hand on Gunhee's shoulder squeezing it slightly to comfort the other. “We understand, don't worry, it's alright. We all have a choice to make.”

“I wish he'd tell me that but sadly you're not him”, the brown-haired sighed through clenched teeth before glaring at the other mutants who were staring and moving towards a nearby tree to lean against. As he appeared to be deep in thought, Wonho decided not to push the matter any further and raised his voice a little to address everyone instead.

“We'll leave in ten minutes to bring as much distance between ourselves and this factory as possible before they find us. Don't stray too far so you don't accidentally get caught.” The tree was rustling, wind shaking the leaves of an ending spring and Wonho sat down on the cool grass damp with evening dew. He was tired, so tired. They could be glad Hyungwon was there to treat the bullet wound or they'd have had to remain in place for much longer.

Seokwon crouched down by his side plucking a few blades of grass and examining them like they were the most interesting thing to him while Hyungwon made for Jooheon, stopping by his side. “I'll accompany the mutants to Coups, everybody except for the fiery wants to go and be safe right now.”

“You what?” Wonho put a hand on Seokwon's knee. “You're going back? Did you change your mind!?”

“What, no, don't shit yourself”, Seokwon chuckled ripping out another fistful of grass. “It's a big group with no idea of how to get to the shelter. I don't want them to run into one of the houses we saw earlier or, even worse, into the arms of some guards. They'll be all over the place, we can't allow the sheep over there to run towards their doom, can we?”

It was true, Seokwon had made a point, it was dangerous. Wonho wouldn't have been able to get this far on his own either, there were too many things he hadn't thought of. He was still naive, not remembering anything about the world. He didn't want to think of the worst case scenario for their little group if they got caught and talked. Seokwon was right. “But I don't want you to leave. I need you here, I wouldn't have been able to do a thing if it wasn't for your help in the factory-”

“Hey, ya won't notice I'm gone. I'll go and run back quickly, just this once. We're still rather close to the shelter, it's a stone's throw, really. Or you'd rather Hyungwon went to bring them back?”

_Why can't you both just stay with me?_ It had barely been three days but Wonho had taken a liking to them and under no circumstances did he want to separate, especially not after the crazy thing they pulled off that evening. It felt like they were made to be a team. “No, he...he wouldn't even be able to defend them.”

“Thought so”, Seokwon confirmed with a nod and a smile. “I gave him most of the food earlier, should be enough for a meal for you guys but it's gonna get tough then. Make it to the city before you starve, yeah? And keep the knife.”

“The knife?” Wonho pulled it out of his jacket in a hurry before a thought struck him. “The transmitters. We need to get them out somehow-”

“Don't worry, I'll get it done before we reach the shelter”, the other assured calmly. For some reason he was far more composed than Wonho could say of himself and again he felt bad. If he took the lead to free mutants one by one he'd have to man up. Intimidating appearance alone couldn't save his life, he had to act accordingly and suck it up. “We'll scatter them on the way so that the guards' attention is drawn from you. Sounds like a plan?”

Wonho sighed in defeat, smirking right after. “Better than anything I could have come up with in under ten minutes.”

“Not your fault you were knocked out for thirty minutes”, Seokwon shrugged smiling in return. “Well then, I'll go collect the sheep.”

“Take care, Seokwon. Godspeed.”

“Yeah, you do, too. Have an eye on Hyungwon, he looks stronger than he is.” _Same_. Wonho nodded and watched him as he whisper-screamed at the remaining mutants to gather and explained the way they'd move before getting up and walking towards Jooheon and Hyungwon who were still crouching by the river.

“...thought he wouldn't be like that.”

“I understand your frustration but he might change his mind later on. Seokwon will tell him where we're going and maybe he'll come to join us-”

Wonho didn't mean to interrupt their conversation but stepped on a dry branch that cracked below his feet causing them to spin around with wide eyes. “S-sorry, I just thought...Seokwon as leaving and I...uhm...” He scratched the back of his head. “What were you talking about?”

“It's no biggie”, Jooheon mumbled, chin resting on his drawn-up knees. “You think Gun will change his mind?”

He could hear disappointment in his voice and when he glanced at Hyungwon he saw resignation and a silent plea.  _Say yes._ “He just needs time to think. And Seokwon's with him, maybe he'll manage to convince him.” After a short pause, he swallowed and added: “You could go with him if you want to stick together.”

“I have decided. He was around for too long, it's just weird to stay behind without him now.” Jooheon turned his head to watch the group of people leave down the road, a certain brown-haired male looking back at the exact same moment. “Full offense but you would have been crushed if I hadn't helped you in there.”

Wonho wanted to remark that if it hadn't been for them, Jooheon would still be sitting in that stupid cell of a room but slender fingers on his arm stopped him. “How long?”, Hyungwon asked quietly waving at Seokwon with one last smile before telling them to get up. They had to get going as well, the three of them. “How long was Gunhee with you?”

“Three years. It was around my third year in the factory when he joined the team.”

“I see. That makes about five years there, huh?” Wonho gave up, knowing he was not very tactful when it came to sentimental memory-related things so he just kept his mouth shut and let Hyungwon do the talking who seemed to get the point right away. Wonho couldn't remember a thing, how would he relate to the memories of others emotionally anyway? “How old are you, Jooheon?”

“Twenty-three. Started working in the factory when I was almost eighteen.” He chuckled to himself. “We were nothing but dogs on their leashes.”

Hyungwon picked up on some sound urging them to be quiet and hide in the damp grass. A flashlight illuminated their surroundings but moved on just as fast accompanied by mumbled curses and other profanities. They had been very sure the signal came from there, they said and Hyungwon almost facepalmed when he heard it. “Right, Jooheon, we need to get rid of your tracker as well. I forgot over the trouble with Gunhee. Left forearm near the elbow?”

Said male chewed on the inside of his cheek showing them the arm. It was hard to see with the dim moonlight but Wonho was sure there were small bumps around the area Hyungwon had described, it looked like scars.

“Didn't think I'd ever have to go through that again. They switched it to my right arm.”

Hyungwon's brows were furrowed, finger tracing the little bumps and causing Jooheon to shiver. “Why would they take it out and switch sides? Never heard of that happening.”

“Because it didn't”, their current youngest remarked with a shrug. “I ripped it out in my second year there trying to get out. Needless to say they caught me.”

Wonho didn't want to imagine the feeling of having to rip the transmitter out on your own, stomach protesting at the thought but Hyungwon kept examining the scars. “They didn't treat the wound though?”

“Let's call it the punishment I had to undergo.” Again Jooheon shrugged, rolling up the right sleeve to expose a small round shape showing under his skin. “Do you have a knife or...?”

Wonho scrambled to retrieve Seokwon's butterfly knife from his bag again, thankful that he had left it with them. “I, uh, never had to do this”, he admitted glancing at Hyungwon who shook his head with wide eyes.

“Hell no, Wonho. I can't see blood, remember? The liquid red stuff flowing out of you when you cut yourself? I'd rather drop dead.”

“Hyungwon, I have no idea how to-”

“Yeah well, I would faint. Seokwon or Coups usually did it-”

“Guys?”, Jooheon asked into their discussion to stop things from getting out of hand. “I...I'll just do it myself, give me that.” He grabbed the knife with resignation flipping it open and sticking his tongue out when he began to concentrate on the round shape. “I place my life in your hands and find out that one is scared and the other can't see blood, you definitely need my company.”

Wonho would never admit it but Jooheon was really cool right then and there.

Until he started crying that is. The knife had barely even grazed his skin when a whine made it past his lips, concentration morphing into pain and hopelessness. “I really don't want to do this again, shit.”

Hyungwon was deliberately looking away playing with the hem of his shirt. “Biting on fabric might help? We can't be too loud or the guards might hear.”

“Can't you take the pain from him? Like, block it until he's done?”, Wonho asked out of sheer curiosity but the other shook his head.

“That's part of Wonwoo's power, not mine, Wonho. Whenever I heal, it just gets worse, you should know.” He remembered the horrible itch and agreed without any further hesitation. “I can only help once the damage is done.”

Jooheon hissed again, collected himself and relaxed his shoulders. “I can do it. Just be quick to reverse everything, yes?” Wonho decided not to comment on the trembling of his voice but he was about to groan himself when Jooheon stopped again. _We don't have time for this._

He took the knife back from the youngest and forced himself not to think about the fact that he was about to cut a human arm. This was fine, it was like getting foul stuff out of vegetables, it was no big deal. _Who are you trying to fool?_

It was a big deal. One hell of it and Wonho was glad he hadn't had to do it himself when he woke up at the shelter. “Hyungwon, hold him in place. Jooheon, bite down onto something, try to keep quiet.”

“You said you've never done anything like this before?!”, the latter replied with a high-pitched screech when Hyungwon's arms wrapped restrained him in his movements, pushing him to the ground.

“There's a first time for everything.” Wonho grabbed the right wrist and swallowed glancing at his friend once more. “Is there any damage you wouldn't be able to heal?”

“I can literally recreate cells. Muscles take longer but no, go ahead.”

“What the fuck, are you telling me I could lose my arm but it would be _fine??_ ” Jooheon's panic was beginning to move over to Wonho so he grabbed the spare shirt from his bag and stuffed it into the poor boy's mouth.

“Be quiet and still as far as you can, I'll be quick.”

He didn't let himself think twice and applied the knife to the lean forearm, gradually increasing pressure until blood started flowing. Wonho felt like vomiting but forced himself to keep going. He had started this, he would make sure Jooheon's tracker was removed. He clenched his teeth so hard he was afraid they might break, deliberately ignoring the muffled cries, the hot tears and horrified gasps around him.

The round device turned out to be rather flat, he didn't have to cut deep and it was easier to remove than he had thought, dropping the knife as soon as he could to throw the tracker somewhere far away. “Hyungwon. Breathe calmly. I need you to heal him.”

“Fuck, Wonho, I can't. I can smell the iron, i-it's the real deal and I just can't-”

“Shhh”, he shushed him while Jooheon's tears slowly dried up getting used to the throbbing pain in his arm. “Hyungwon, don't look at the wound, look somewhere else. It's just another wound that needs healing, you've done this before. It's not even that deep. Give me your hand.”

Instead of waiting for him to do something, Wonho took Hyungwon's hand himself and covered the cut with it while still looking at him. “Now heal it. You can do it.”

They made sure to keep Jooheon restrained so he wouldn't accidentally scratch at the wound but he was becoming calmer by the second, forcing himself to breathe with more control. It was alright, the worst had passed, it was up to Hyungwon's strength of mind now.

The healer adapted his breathing to that of Jooheon and pressed his lips together, eyes closed when Jooheon started squirming again. A few seconds of Wonho having to push Jooheon into the soft ground passed until the body below him relaxed and Hyungwon let go opening his eyes again. The wound was gone, only the traces of blood remaining. “Much better”, Jooheon panted quietly as he glanced up at Hyungwon. “Thanks.”

The other couldn't reply though, eyes on his bloody hand, the clean one coming up to his mouth before he got up, turned around and threw up into the grass. Wonho couldn't say he felt any better forcing himself to breathe the cool night air and focus on a car in the very far distance until his stomach was not on the verge of spilling everything anymore. He then grabbed their water bottle, letting Jooheon drink something first before he moved on to Hyungwon and washed his bloody hand with the clean liquid.

It was fine. It was alright.

Hyungwon got rid of the disgusting taste in his mouth as well before they collected their things and distanced themselves from the spot, moving at least a bit further away to calm down. Jooheon was visibly awed by the way his right arm looked, not a trace of the tracker or the cuts left. “Damn, you're right, it's like nothing was there in the first place.”

“Told you”, Hyungwon replied with his voice hoarse and a bit higher than usual. “T-to think Seokwon has to do this to everyone, I...I should have thought of that, we could have healed everybody before setting out.”

“I trust him, he'll do just fine”, Wonho interjected wanting to change the topic as quickly as possible. “Okay, now that we got rid of that let's walk for some more and then make camp somewhere we can remain undetected, yeah?”

The other two agreed and they kept walking beside the street hiding from every car, every person they could make out, eyes easily getting used to the darkness by then.

“Why did you try to flee before?”, Hyungwon whispered into the silent night as it had obviously been on his mind for some time and Jooheon needed a moment only to reply with a shrug.

“During my transport from the facility to the factory I could spot the world out here through a few holes in the side of the van so we could breathe. I saw all that nature, a couple of normal humans here and there and...I don't know, that shit does things to you. Then why did you run?”

“I don't know. I just felt like I had to get out.” The answer was curt and didn't leave any room for question causing Jooheon and Wonho to exchange glances. From what he had heard, mutants couldn't get out of anything just because they _felt like it._ But if Hyungwon didn't want to talk about it they could only respect his choice and move along in silence.

“Wonho, why did you run?”

“Me?” He licked his lips taking in the scenery and chewed on the inside of his cheek for a while. _This is no place for you to stay._ Had he run because someone had told him to? But that wouldn't make sense, would it? He decided to stick with the only truth he knew. “I don't remember for sure. It feels like I'm missing something, some _one_ but I just can't put my finger on it. But I ran and I ran alone.”

“Memory loss? Tough luck”, Jooheon mumbled with a nod to himself. “I had that dude in the factory who would talk about the love of his life he had left behind when he had developed his power. Complete bullshit, as if we'd ever have a life before we get our powers.”

“Not like we have one afterwards”, Hyungwon added with a sigh but Wonho only frowned.

“Are there people who don't always show signs of a mutation? Who actually develop their powers later? I mean, it could be, right?”

“Don't kid yourself, man”, the youngest interjected with a shake of his head. “Mutants are mutants. Have always been, will always be. There's no way he was telling the truth, he had more than a few screws loose, trust me.” He tapped against his temple. “We're made to be useful to humans, they just haven't found a way to control every detail about us.”

“You sound like you believe those words.”

“Would I be here if I did, though?”

Wonho buried his hands in his leather jacket with a sigh. “Fair enough.” Many more minutes passed, the more professional search teams would have arrived at the factory by then for sure and neither of them asked to rest or anything the like. It wasn't until a forest appeared in the distance that Hyungwon suggested to take a break.

“We could look for a place that's rather hidden and make camp, at least for a while. We need to sleep.”

“I'm more than beat but what if they find us?”, Jooheon threw in with tired eyes.

Wonho knew he wouldn't make it much further anyway. “Then we'll have slept for a while and be able to run much faster. Let's take a break, I agree.”

 

They found a small clearing next to the river that had grown a bit bigger with the distance they walked, deciding to camp there and take turns with the night watch. Jooheon would stay up first to light a small fire, then Hyungwon and finally Wonho, that was the plan. Wonho watched sleepily as Jooheon collected some wood and dried it with heat before finally setting it ablaze. It was amazing to watch him do it like there was nothing easier than forming fire out of nothing but energy and air.

“Can you control the fire at your will?”, he mumbled shortly interrupted by a yawn. The warmth of the fire seeped through his clothes and made him even sleepier. Hyungwon was by the river to wash his hands and mouth once more, he seemed out of it since the healing procedure and Wonho decided to ask him about it as soon as he could. He felt sorry.

Jooheon blinked a couple of times like he was not expecting a question like that. “Uh, yeah, I'm a fire mutant.”

“I know that but you make it look like it's child's play.”

“Because it is?” Jooheon drew patterns into the air, a thin string of fire following his every move. “It's a part of me, why would I not be able to use it?” He then glanced at Wonho's hands before cocking his head to the side. “Why do you keep wearing those?”

“I-” He let his fingers graze the cold blue material so smooth it reflected the flames and shimmered beautifully. “I'm afraid.”

“Of what?”

“Of it getting out of control.” He shifted in restlessness clearing his throat. “I only used it twice since I got out and I don't know anything from before that time and-...and both times I literally caused blackouts. The energy, it just kind of explodes and I don't know how to handle it, lightnings shooting everywhere...” He felt stupid for having to admit that he couldn't use what was so natural to Jooheon. What a poor excuse of a mutant.

“Oh, so you're lightnings? Electricity and all that?” Wonho nodded, only now realizing that he hadn't told Jooheon before, there hadn't been a moment to. The latter pursed his lips while thinking. “You don't remember using it before?”

“I guess I did but no, I don't now. I can't do anything but bust entire systems at once losing control over it.”

“Then it's easy. It's because you didn't use it much.” Jooheon calmed the flames a little, suddenly aware of the fact that there might still be guards around looking for them. “Practice makes perfect. You have too much energy saved up so it just kind of...runs off on its own.”

“Practice?” It sounded so simple and logical, Wonho felt that it could be true. “So what should I do? I can't shoot lightnings everywhere until I get the hang of it, we're mutants on the run, how would I practice?”

Jooheon repeatedly tapped a finger against his lips. “Would you train with me?”

“What? Like, fighting you? Mutants don't fight each other, you must be joking”, Wonho tried to laugh it off but the other just raised an eyebrow to indicate that he was serious and he swallowed. “I mean, I'd love to, you know, train. Anything if it means I can regain control of this energy.”

They smiled at each other and Jooheon stretched leaning back against a tree. “Then it's decided, I'll think of something, so you just try to sleep so you're not tired in the morning. It's gonna be a long day, we need to reach the city. Hyungwon, you too! Bed time!”

The lanky young man looked up from where he was washing his face, little drops of water sparkling on the skin. “Wake me up in an hour or something?”

“Make it longer, I can take some more, I'm tough”, Jooheon replied watching as Wonho and Hyungwon lay down on the ground using their jackets as pillows. It was not much but the fire was comforting and after the long day they would have no problems with falling asleep. “Good night, Wonho. Hyungwon.”

“Good night guys.”

Hyungwon didn't reply anymore, asleep before his head had even so much as touched the makeshift pillow and Wonho chuckled for a bit, then closed his eyes as well. It was nice having those two around and he wondered whether Seokwon had made it back to the shelter already, hoping they hadn't been caught.

_Stay positive. You're on the way. You're alive. You're not alone._

_You're not alone._

A small part of him told him sometimes it was better to be alone but he didn't know where it came from and pushed it to the back of his thoughts to drift off into dreamland.

 

With two consecutive nights without dreams, Wonho wished it had stayed the same for the following ones as well but sadly, he was not granted that wish.

_It was all he remembered over and over again. White corridors. White rooms. A siren. Hands on his face. He tried to run, to find a way out and climbed a long flight of stairs until he reached the rooftop of the white building. It was night, a soft and warm breeze surrounding him when he stepped to the banister around the house, bare feet touching the cold stone ground that was painted in green like every other house in the area. He sat, feet dangling from the building and pale fingers curling around the metal of the banister._

“ _I don't like seeing these houses. I feel so confined when I'm inside”, he mumbled to no one in particular but he could hear the steps of another pair of feet, then someone sitting down next to him._

“ _Then look up at the stars instead.” It was the voice. The husky voice he knew, the only thing he remembered. “The stars are beautiful, right Wonho?”_ Wonho. _He wanted to look at the person but his dream-self wouldn't move accordingly, glancing up at the dark night sky instead._

“ _There's too much light down here, we can barely see any stars.”_

“ _Maybe but they say the view is great in the country. They're all you can see and you feel like you can just reach out and grab them, they say.”_

“ _Who are they?”_

“ _You know the answer, why do you ask? Those who keep us here so we don't hurt others. I hope we can see it for ourselves one day.”_

_He sighed, grasp on the banister tightening at the words woven in between random utterances. “You would never hurt anybody without a reason, it's so stupid”, his voice retorted when his head finally turned to face the person._

“ _...How are you so sure? What would you know about me?” Red hair. Dark red like blood, there was no time to take in anything else._

“ _Everything. I just know you too well-”_

_He was back in a white room, squinting to adjust to the light. He had been so close, he wanted to go back but a person with a white lab coat entered the room followed by a few others. And something in Wonho clicked and he was scared. Scared to the extent that he started tearing at his restraints. “Don't touch me”, he growled baring his teeth but the researcher, that's what he was, remained unimpressed._

“ _I don't need to touch you to get you to shut up, mutant.” He snapped with his fingers and somebody's hands came around his head from behind, pressing against his temples and eyes. Gently but determined. A whisper echoed through his head as the sound of his screams grew dull and he fell into some black hole that had opened up under him._

“ _Sadly, you don't even know me half as well as you think.”_

_It was a lie. He could feel something was off. Something was wrong._

“ _You know nothing.”_

_It's a lie, a_ lie, a-

 

“Stop lying!”, he exclaimed sitting up and trying to get out of the black hole, eyes wide and picking up on a few single shapes and colors. “It's all a lie, stop lying-”

“Wonho? Wonho, shit, what's wrong, calm down!”, a new voice hissed urgently shaking him by the shoulders. “It was a dream. A dream, you hear me?” His face was pressed against warm skin, fingers ghosting over his scalp while a second hand grabbed his wrist to force it down. “Shhh, it's alright, it was a dream.”

_Hyungwon._ It was Hyungwon's voice getting him out of the dream but the other remained in his mind, vivid and horrible.  _You don't even know me half as well._ No, he had known everything. He had forgotten about it but he knew things, they were  _there_ . He had dreamed of his memories, had dreamed of the person again. Hair, the color of blood. A husky voice. 

It was fine, he'd reconstruct everything step by step.

Hyungwon's slim fingers kept combing through his orange and blonde hair and it was only then that he remembered where he was. They were in the forest on their way to Yeoju. They had made camp by the river. He had been sleeping. It was a dream. It was a dream all along and now he was awake again. “I'm sorry”, he mumbled against Hyungwon's collarbone, voice hoarse and something wet on his cheeks that felt suspiciously like tears.

_Crybaby_ .

He took a deep breath to pull away from Hyungwon and put on a smile. “Sorry, you must've been startled.”

“Just a bit.” The fire was about to die, not giving off much light anymore but the moonlight caught on Hyungwon's hair and made it shine in cold blueish silver. It was pretty. Jooheon was lying a few steps away sleeping soundly, snoring quietly. “What were you-”

“Do you think we can see a lot of stars out here?”, he blurted out, probably confusing Hyungwon even more but the other didn't comment on it, smiling warmly instead.

“I guess you didn't look up yet.”

The trees weren't as dense at the river so it was possible to see the sky behind the layers of leaves and twigs. Wonho wondered why he hadn't bothered looking yet, stunned by the little parts he could see. Tiny silver stars glowing in the dark, brighter than he'd ever seen it before. He looked around, looked for a way to see more and found a tree he could climb up, immediately rising to his feet and pulling himself onto the first bigger branch. “Wonho, what are you doing?”, Hyungwon hissed but couldn't suppress a chuckle.

“I need to see them all.”

“It's stars, they're always there, why the rush?” He could hear him climb up as well, heaving himself up the branches and past smaller twigs. Wonho stopped at the very last branch that could support him and sat down, Hyungwon standing on the one a bit lower leaning against the tree trunk.

Stars were littering the sky, all over the place like they waited all their lives to shine at that very moment. There hadn't been any stars in his dream. _They say the view is great in the country._ “It's breathtaking.”

“It always is”, Hyungwon confirmed with a warm smile in his voice. “I didn't get tired of it in more than one year.”

“To think that we never got to see this before...”

“Did you remember something?” _And what was your dream about?_ The question remained unspoken but Wonho knew it was stupid to avoid talking about it. Maybe it would help sorting out the confusion if he shared it with someone. Hyungwon seemed to understand people's feelings very well, too.

“Do you not wonder why I want to go and run into facilities to get mutants out? I know how idiotic it sounds myself, might as well have killed myself or something the like.”

“Don't say that”, Hyungwon said firmly, voice tense and teeth clenched. “Don't you ever consider that an option.”

Wonho didn't waver at the warning undertone, he was just telling the truth. He had thought about his options during his two days at the shelter when there was nothing better to do anyway. “I'm here, am I not? No, I have a reason to keep trying.”

He kept his eyes fixed on the dark blue night sky, broad and endless like the world he had yet to discover. Hyungwon didn't relax but his voice turned a bit calmer. “You said something about a promise earlier.”

_I'll come back, I promise._ “It's the thing that made me decide to go. Somewhere out there-” He pulled a leg closer, the other loosely resting on a smaller branch. “-is a person I promised to come back to. Someone who definitely remembers who I was before I woke up at the shelter. I need to find him. If I can find him, I might be able to find my old self again.”

“A person, hm?” Something sad overshadowed Hyungwon's voice but he too was just looking up at the stars. “It doesn't sound too bad to have someone to hold on to. But what if you don't get the answers you're looking for? Or if we never get there?”

Wonho swallowed. He had thought of that as well but couldn't find the best answer. “By then I'll hopefully have helped many mutants to go out into the world and become their own masters. And that would be a me I could live with as well.”

Hyungwon hummed and a minute or two passed during which nobody said a thing, the quiet snoring of Jooheon reaching their ears and causing them to smile before Wonho mustered up the courage to ask. “Why can't you stand the sight of blood?”

Again Hyungwon's whole body tensed, fingers digging into his still crossed arms. “I hated this mutation for over twenty years of my life. As well as everything related.”

“It's a gift, you should embrace it. You can help so many people-”

“What do you think they did in the facility to test it? That...that _gift._ ” He spat out the last words like venom making Wonho flinch. “Every time they had gone too far with some experiment I had to repair what they had broken. All kinds of wounds, all kinds of severeness. I...I've seen my fair share of blood, Wonho.” There was more, so he waited for the younger to speak again, not daring to break the silence until a soft whisper reached him. “I've seen enough mutants die because I couldn't save them.”

He swallowed heavily, nails digging into the tree bark scratching over the rough material. “You couldn't heal them?”

“I couldn't”, Hyungwon confirmed chewing on his plump lower lip. “There are some things I can't fix. Sometimes they let me treat them too late as well. Stupid coincidences that made me powerless. The first died when I was nine years old because they mistook my powers for a universal solution to erase their wrongs. The blood was everywhere, didn't go away no matter how often I washed my hands. It's-” He took a trembling breath. “I feel like it's still there even now. What good is a useless _gift_?”

“Don't say that, you're not useless-”

“Then what am I? I don't belong anywhere, I don't have a home, I don't even have a future. Tell me, what am I?” Wonho finally managed to tear his gaze away from the silver stars only to be confronted with Hyungwon's frustrated eyes. Did he really not see his worth?

“You're Hyungwon. Sensitive and life saving healer of this bunch of idiots that is Seokwon, Jooheon and I. A vital part. You belong with us, it's as simple as that”, he shrugged wanting to run his hand through the other's silver hair. Silver like the stars. But it was not the actual stars he was looking for. “I can't think of anyone better.”

“You don't know anyone else”, Hyungwon snorted in reply rolling his eyes but smiling nonetheless. “But it sounds nice hearing that.” Something nostalgic was in the air as they kept staring at the landscape from their outpost. Wonho glanced at his wrists encircled by blue stone chewing on his lower lip. _A useless gift._ He had to learn how to control it. He had to know why it was so explosive, why it felt so bad to use it. _No gift is ever useless. You just need to know how to do it._

“You should go back to sleep”, he then said to Hyungwon with a smile, motioning him to climb down the tree. “It's my turn anyway.”

“Are you sure you'll be alright on your own?”

He avoided to look directly at the tall young man, afraid of showing his insecurity. “I'm good, I was just a bit...a bit upset. A dream's just a dream, right?” Wrong. It wasn't just some fiction and he knew that but Hyungwon didn't have to. “Good night, Hyungwon.”

The other kept staring, he could feel the big eyes on him until a quiet sigh was heard. “Good night, Wonho. See you in an hour or two.”

“Sure.”

He didn't know how much time passed as he stared at the stars shining so beautifully until they too were blown out like candles when the sky grew lighter and the sun made its entry. It didn't matter how beautiful they were – in the end they'd have to make room for the rising warm ball of light.

Wonho thought it to be sad and so much of a metaphor of life as he kept watching in melancholic silence.

 


	4. Mutants don't enter cities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Seokwon returns with useful things and our friends reach the city of Yeoju.

“The key is to not let the emotions control you”, Jooheon explained like it was the easiest thing to do. “You need to be in full control at all times.”

“How do I activate my powers if I must not be emotional?”, Wonho whined, headache from having slept too few getting worse. Jooheon's words got through to him but the only times he had ever managed to use his powers was when he thought of that voice. When he got desperate and stressed. “I thought that's...that's the only way.”

“You, dear sir, have serious problems with your emotions then”, the younger remarked with a crooked grin, dimples showing. “You need to try and feel it. Feel the energy, the way it flows through you. It's got nothing to do with emotions, or it _shouldn't_ have.”

“I heard with elemental ones it helps to think of the feeling of the element”, Hyungwon chimed in while adjusting his backpack. “Coups, I mean Seungcheol, used to tell me he likes to think of his powers like the tides. Falling and rising to create a certain balance? I can't relate since, you know, I'm just healing stuff but that's what he said.”

Jooheon hummed in agreement. “I keep thinking of the warmth of fire, imagine how it slowly spreads through my veins until I feel it at the tips of my fingers. The fire's inside of me, just waiting for me to tell it what to do. The more you use it, the more you're in control of it.” He shrugged, eyes fixed on the road until he turned to Hyungwon with a deep frown. “How do you do it?”

“Hard to explain”, the other just replied quietly, “I kind of feel it when somebody is hurt. It's like the mutation awakens, tells me to close the distance and just...do something about it?”

Wonho pursed his lips and thought about it for a while. “So you mean you're drawn to wounded people by reflex?”

“It's harder not to heal than to just do it”, he admitted with a nod. “Unless I am completely exhausted it will always be like that.”

“Remind me to never throw you onto the battlefield if there's ever a possibility of doing so.”

“Will do, boss.”

Jooheon glanced at the two of them before simply reaching for Wonho's wrists and sliding the bracelets off with a swift movement. “I don't mean to interrupt your conversation but I want you to focus on your energy instead of thinking about stuff that's of no concern right now.” Something changed right away, energy more prominent as it was finally able to course through Wonho's veins but the feeling soon ebbed away – felt like a deficit was finally balanced once the blue stone did not confine the power anymore.

“I feel it but only for a brief second. I cannot grasp it-”

“Try to hold on”, Jooheon commanded as he stopped walking. They were standing right beside the highway but with no car in sight and them having moved quite far since they had woken up it didn't pose a problem. “Try to feel where it goes. How it circulates in your body.”

Wonho closed his eyes, standing still and searching for the weird tingle he had felt before. He knew it was there but it was hard to get a hold of it.

“Think of the lightnings.” Almost white, a pale blue. Indecisive, flying wherever they wanted to, changing directions every so often. Beautiful. Intimidating. “What you felt when you used them.” Fear. Shock. The prickling at his fingertips and the way everything built up until it just disappeared, unleashed and escaping from his body like a gunshot.

He could feel it. The way the unfamiliar energy changed directions, flowed towards his hands and fingers, filling up every bit of it. It was there, the electricity. “And now force them to act the way you want. You're their master and their host. They can't do anything without you. Try to hit that rock over there for instance.” He had to try. It would be hard but Jooheon said he could, so why would he lie? Wonho glanced at said rock, then took a deep breath and tried to assume control. _Hit the rock. I'm the master of these lightnings and I want them to hit it. Do it. Now!_

The accumulated energy broke free from his hand, indifferent to his orders yet still going into the right direction. A loud bang sounded through the empty landscape as he was thrown backwards just like at the factory when he had tried to destroy the control panel. “Dude, you alright??”, Jooheon exclaimed when soft grass touched Wonho's cheek, back hitting the ground.

He groaned for a moment, energy continuing to flow again after a short state of shock like it always did when the bracelets were off. “I shouldn't have, they're untamed”, he whined pressing the heels of his palms against his closed eyes. “This doesn't work, it's as always.”

“You just need some more practice, we'll get the boost out of it sooner or later but you succeeded, didn't you?”, Jooheon encouraged him while Hyungwon helped him up again.

“True, that rock didn't stand a chance”, he chuckled as Wonho opened his eyes again to find out what they were talking about.

The rock was gone, more or less.

Bits of gravel were scattered around but nothing was left of the big rock from before, sooty markings on the slightly burnt grass and sand by the side of the road. He had actually hit the rock. “It's pulverized?”, he whispered eyes wide and stepping up to the spot. It was warm like from an actual lightning.

“High voltage can be dangerous, indeed”, Hyungwon said with a nod and Jooheon patted Wonho's back with a smile.

“As long as you don't lose your grip and shoot that killer blaster at us, that's pretty damn awesome.” He waved the bracelets in front of the oldest's face. “I feel like these make the explosion worse once the energy can flow. It only accumulates too much, gets aggressive the longer it is restrained.”

Wonho kept staring at the gravel, swallowing hard. “I could have hurt you just because I couldn't control it properly. I didn't think it was this- Didn't mean to-”

“Hey, calm down.” Silver hair entered his vision, slender fingers curling around his bare wrists. “We're unharmed, nobody got hurt because of your powers since we met a few days ago and you can't tell me we were just lucky. You can choose the target, just not channel the energy as well yet.” Hyungwon's round eyes were on his, serious and with no room for discussion. “You're not dangerous. And even if something were to happen, honestly, I could just remove the damage, see? You're in perfect company-”

“I don't want to be like the researchers. You shouldn't have to heal more than necessary.” Wonho stared back, both of them knowing exactly that he was referring to Hyungwon's background and the latter lowered his head to smile to himself, fingers still around his wrists. Calming. Cooling down.

“I appreciate that mindset, Wonho. But it's simple. I'll heal whoever needs me to do so. So you'd better not panic about practicing what your gift holds.”

They also knew the use of the word _gift_ was intentional, making it Wonho's turn to smile a little. “Thanks. I'll try.”

They nodded at each other while Jooheon kept examining the stone bracelets. “It's a pretty old technique this type of stone. Didn't see that for ages, they replaced the bracelets by injections. I wonder how they found out about this as a means for blocking mutations...” Wonho stepped closer to him, captivated by the golden markings on the sapphire colored stone.

“It's a weird thing. So small but it can block something that is an essential part of us. The thing that makes us different. It feels intimidating.”

“And that's why you won't be wearing them from now on.”

“W-what?”

“Like I was saying, they're doing something to you. So we'll see how you develop without them. Good idea?”

“Bad idea”, Wonho retorted trying to grab the bracelets. “What if-”  
“Good idea”, Hyungwon interfered taking the blue rings from Jooheon to hold them up above his head with a smug smile. Why did he have to be so much taller again? “I think it's the best you can do to get used to it, at least until we're in the city.”

Wonho knew it was useless to argue one against two, shoulders dropping in defeat and his hands clenched to fists. If they wouldn't let him he'd have to work on his self-composure himself. He knew they were right but he was just so _scared_. “I just hope you're right”, he muttered as he picked up pace again. The faster they reached the city, the faster he'd get the bracelets back and the faster he wouldn't have to worry about the soundness of his comrades anymore.

It had to be around lunchtime not too long after that and they scraped together the last bits of rice they could find in their bags, filling up their bottles with water from the clear river. It was not the healthiest but they needed something to drink. Wonho could only hope they were close to the city by then, suggesting to take a longer break of just sitting down and listening to the birds. It was their second break, the first having lasted for approximately forty minutes.

“Do you think Seokwon got the others to the shelter safely?”, he asked thinking of the rather big number of runaways trying to hide from the guards. If Seokwon had kept moving he'd be back any moment considering he didn't have to stop to eat like they did.

“It must have been tough”, Hyungwon added with a nod, “but I'm certain he made it. He jokes around a lot but he knows when to stay levelheaded.”

“Sounds like it wouldn't be too much of a problem then.” Jooheon plucked a flower, a tiny thing with white longish petals, examining it thoroughly. “And he had Gun with him.”

“What's that got to do with keeping a whole group of people together?”

“A lot in this case.” He smirked twirling the flower between thumb and index finger. “Gun hasn't been in the factory as long as some of us but the two of us were rather helpful. Sometimes, mutants broke down, saying they couldn't keep going because they were void of energy for the day. We would cover for them so that they wouldn't receive penalties.”

Wonho raised his brows in surprise. “You lied to the authorities? You could have been caught.”

“But we weren't. Gun couldn't help with the manufacturing but he'd make sure to take care of all the heavy carrying to spare them that exhaustion as well. That shit brought us some respect, they'd follow us rather than each other.”

“Sounds like you're two pretty awesome people”, Wonho remarked with an acknowledging nod towards Jooheon. “Protecting the others and stuff.”

“It's basic human etiquette, isn't it? We had to stick together or we wouldn't have survived”, he replied as a matter of fact when Hyungwon spoke up again.

“What is his power if he didn't help with manufacturing?”

“Light.” Jooheon pointed upward where the sun was breaking through the fresh and green leaves of the trees, creating spots of light and shadow on the ground. “Unlike fire it's cold, doesn't feel like anything. But it's damn bright so the guards liked to send him on nightly material carrying missions and stuff. Back when the lights were out they'd just take Gun to brighten the hall and make us work through the night. He was more of a backup from the start.”

“That's what blinded us back at the factory, right?”, Wonho wanted to know causing the other to smile with a roll of his eyes.

“He was trying to find me in the chaos, yeah. He's an idiot but he'd never let you down, I tell you. Well...until yesterday, I guess.” A pout formed on Jooheon's face, eyes clouding over now and Hyungwon was quick to refocus the conversation.

“A loyal idiot. Sounds like Seokwon to me, I understand that all too well”, he said with a grin glancing at Wonho for help but the latter sucked horribly at social interaction so it took him a moment to think of something.

 _Not like you have a lot of personal experience to talk about._ “I guess I'm the same though”, he then noted resting his head on his knees and drawing patterns between grass blades. “If I can really trust someone I will do anything to keep them safe or to just see them happy.”

“That's what friends and lovers are all about, aren't they?”, Jooheon chuckled. “We're all loyal fools when it comes to someone.”

“Preach”, Hyungwon laughed and Wonho lowered his eyes glancing at his feet instead.

He was a loyal fool to the voice in his head. The voice with hair of the color of fresh blood or red roses. He didn't know a thing, yet he stayed loyal trying to find him. A loyal fool, indeed.

Something started rustling in the bushes causing the three of them to jump up to their feet immediately. Wonho pushed Hyungwon behind himself and Jooheon as they kept staring at the direction of the sound. “Did you see anyone coming?”, Wonho whispered quietly but the other two just shook their heads in tense silence.

A few more moments passed until someone stepped out of the bushes and trees with a quiet curse right before beaming at them. “Y'all should be more careful I could hear ya from miles away. Can be glad the guards gave up for the time being.”

Hyungwon was the first to react, shoulders lowering before he ran up to the guy and pinched his protruding ears. “Dammit, Seokwon, you scared us!”

“Ow, y-you shouldn't curse, Wonnie, it doesn't suit your baby image- Ouch!”

“I am older than you and I do whatever I want.”

Wonho was relieved to see the other alive and well, apart from the pinched ear that was slowly turning white from the pressure of Hyungwon's fingers. “It's good to have you back.”

Jooheon was shuffling his feet not really knowing what Seokwon was like but still smiling to welcome him back. “Did Gun...Did Gunhee arrive safely?”, he eventually asked only for Seokwon to step to the side.

“I don't know, you ask him.”

The bushes rustled once more as another person stepped closer to them, brown hair almost covering his eyes that were looking straight at Jooheon. The latter's eyes widened comically, breath getting stuck in his throat as he blinked a few times to regain his composure. “Why'd you come back?”

“Couldn't leave you alone now, could I?”, Gunhee smirked with a simple shrug. “Surprise, I guess?”

“Surprise? Ha!” Jooheon ran a hand through his orange-brown hair with a disbelieving huff before he dropped the useless front and just threw himself onto Gunhee knocking the air out of him. “A good one at that. Fuck, Gun, I thought you would-”

“Keep hiding away? Yeah, I really wanted to. But then again, how could I leave my favorite fireball out here fighting the bad guys and looking cool without me?”

“I hate you for letting me down, even just for a day”, Jooheon groaned against his friend's shoulder punching him half-heartedly and Wonho leaned over to Seokwon with a smile.

“You convinced him to come back?”

“I only gave the right answers. No persuading necessary”, the other replied with the same warm glint to his eyes. “I'm glad he came along. Would have been a shame to rip them apart, they're obviously close.” They watched as Gunhee told Jooheon how they had sneaked past the guards and almost got caught (thrice) while Jooheon proudly showed off his tracker-free arm and Wonho knew this was the best that could have happened to the two of them. It was heartwarming to say the least.

“So now we're five”, he concluded for himself, Seokwon nodding with determination.

“And there's more to come.”

“I hope you're right.”

Gunhee turned towards him with a curt nod and a careful smile. “I'm Gunhee, I guess you'll know by now as this idiot usually doesn't shut up about me.” He put a hand on Jooheon's mouth before the other could protest, smile turning genuine. “I hope you're alright with me joining but at the same time I wouldn't leave now even if you told me to, so don't bother.”

 _A strong will, wow._ Wonho just decided to rate that as something good and nodded in return. “I'm Wonho and I know I'm still lacking so I'll gladly accept all the help I can get. It's nice to have someone new around.” He glanced at Jooheon with a mocking grin. “And Jooheon will shut up about you now.”

“I didn't talk about him all that much, don't fuel the ego”, the other gasped with pretended anger that only made him look cuter and Wonho chuckled for a short while before telling them all that they had to move on. There was no food left and the city would be in sight any minute from now. They had to make it there before nightfall.

“Then let's go!”, Jooheon exclaimed suddenly in a much better mood as he threw a fist into the air while the other hand held on to Gunhee's wrist. “Can't wait to beat up some more guards!”

His friend rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh. “Suddenly I don't know why I came back.”

“You missed me, admit it.”

“Well...maybe I did. Just a little.”

With Seokwon back in their group the walking arsenal of entertainment and useful things returned, their walk now accompanied by cheerful music again. According to the map, they would probably reach the city in just a bit over an hour and they spent it talking about what had happened during their time apart.

“You should have seen Seungcheol's face”, Seokwon laughed at some point, “when we reached the shelter. He was like _it hasn't even been a day what the fuck?!_ It was hilarious.”

Wonho chuckled along. “I bet he didn't expect us to act right away. Not that I did. Nothing bad happened on your way there?”

“Nah, it was all cool. A couple of breakdowns here and there when I removed the trackers or when they realized that they were literally free to do whatever they wanted but other than that? Nobody running away or anything.”

“Breakdowns?” Wonho got nervous glancing at Seokwon but the other seemed to be used to whatever had happened like it was everyday stuff to happen. “I- you- I mean...Really, thank you that you accompanied them.”

“Piece of cake, we always had the breakdown kids in our room back when I was around Wonwoo and Hyungwon.” Seokwon shrugged “They knew what to do and at some point I just picked up on their techniques to calm people down.”

“You're amazing.” He couldn't imagine what it had to be like remembering all the horrible things Seokwon had told him about _and_ dealing with traumatized runaways every now and then. He was the youngest of the five of them but there was no doubt that he and Hyungwon knew the most about how to survive as a defecting mutant. “I'm glad to have you around.”

“Am glad to be around, too. Better than lying around doing nothin' or, even worse, still being in that facility.” They exchanged a brief glance when Jooheon started jumping up and down with excitement.

“There's the city! We're here! Come on let's go!”

Wonho could see it as well, smiling to himself. They had reached it.

The first stop.

 

It wasn't an extraordinarily big city or anything the like but Yeoju had a certain charm to it. With their factory raid from just two days in the past, there were uniformed people standing everywhere but they didn't really seem to check who was entering or leaving the city. Wonho was about to put on the energy-restraining bracelets he had retrieved from Hyungwon's bag earlier but the other snatched them away again. “What are you doing, give them back!”, he hissed in panic but Hyungwon shook his head glancing at the uniformed men.

“They'd know right away if they saw them, now shut up, calm down and make sure to keep your head down and hood up.” He understood that argument but he was afraid of accidentally using electricity. “As long as you don't feel it, no power is building up, right?”, Hyungwon mumbled as if he had read his mind. “It will be fine.”

“It will be fine”, Wonho repeated for himself and approached the gate to the city avoiding the officials' eyes.

Seokwon had a cap pulled into his face, Jooheon the hood of his jacket up to cover the orange hair and he did the same making sure no bit of orange or blonde hair was showing. For a moment it seemed like nobody would even notice them but it was hopeless when a guard called out to them.

“Hey, you! Where are you guys from?”

“U-us?”, Wonho asked pointing at himself to receive a nod. “We are- We-”

“A little village a few miles down the river”, Seokwon jumped in with a genuine smile showing the guard his map in excitement. “Look, we walked all the way from here to Yeoju, let's not talk about the few food we had-”

“Why did you come here if it was so tiring?”, the guard kept questioning, unmoved by the other's enthusiasm, unnerved at most.

“It's boring there”, Gunhee chimed in with a shrug to relieve Seokwon of the burden of talking. “Working in the country all day is shit so we wanted to see what it's like in the cities.”

“What will you do here?” Jooheon chewed on his lower lip glancing at the ground without replying so Hyungwon took over.

“For now? Rest. We're tired and hungry, so would you let us through?”

The guard stared at each of them with a gaze so piercing Wonho was afraid he'd see right through their act but much to his surprise he didn't. “There's mutants running around. If you find someone suspicious report to the officers right away, got it?”

“Will do”, Wonho replied right away, widening his eyes for good measure. “Free mutants? Is that...is that safe?”

He earned himself an approving glance from Seokwon and the guard sighed. “Sure, it's just a pain to collect them again. They're no threat whatsoever, it's not even a big number.”

“That's a relief then, I hope you find them soon”, Hyungwon said with a calm smile as he pressed his palm against Wonho's back to make him move forward. “Let's go kids.”

“I'm older than you-”

“Just follow me, you idiot.”

“Have a nice stay in Yeoju, I guess”, the guard called after them and Gunhee waved with a bow of his head before turning around and letting out a long breath.

“Now didn't that go well-”

“Shut it 'til we're in the inner city, will ya?”

Wonho didn't think it would be this easy to get in but he was not complaining, not at all. They kept their heads down and made their way down a couple of roads, beautiful and tall buildings to be seen here and there even though the city mostly consisted of old and gray blocks of offices. It was so different from the trees and never ending planes of grass and stone they had seen for the past hours, days even, but the warm wind accompanied them through landscapes and cities alike. It was calming. Wonho had to try hard not to look out of place with how he was gaping at the supermarkets and restaurants like they were the weirdest thing he'd ever seen. They actually were, but nobody was allowed to know.

And all those people.

Normal, non-mutants going about their days like there was nothing to them. Like they could do whatever they wanted to. A young woman walked past them before rounding a corner, a device like Seokwon's mp3-player in her hand and connected to it by earphones. They passed by a supermarket in which old ladies were chattering about, a man bought his lunch, a woman walked with her child clinging to her hand. A child. It was a family, normal and without anything viewed as not rule conform.

Wonho couldn't help it, he stopped in the middle of the busy street to look around in something like awe, a hand covering his mouth. This was the normal life, the life none of them had ever been allowed to live before. Something wet rolled down his cheek and it took him a moment to register that he was crying, Hyungwon stepping closer as soon as he noticed as well.

“Hey, Wonho, it's alright. This...I know it must be...you know.” The lanky male wiped his sleeve across Wonho's face to get rid of the salty liquid. “It is overwhelming.” _What an understatement._

“And we were never allowed to even...” _We weren't even allowed to see the stars._ It felt childish to say it so he let it slide and Hyungwon didn't need him to conclude the sentence, chewing on his lip as he nodded in understanding. They kept glancing around for a little longer, taking in all the shop windows, the food, the beggars by the sidewalk, the colors, _the normal humans._ It felt so wrong.

“What's the plan?”, Jooheon eventually asked visibly uncomfortable with all the people around.

“We'll look for a place to get something to eat”, Seokwon replied, his own voice a bit husky and eyes wide like those of Wonho. “Hyungwon should have money on him and I have a bit as well. We might be able to find someplace cheap. Come on, we should move.”

Gunhee seemed to be the most composed of them leading the way and comparing the prices he could spot from the outside while something else caught Wonho's attention. Lanterns of various colors were hanging down from street lamps and trees, even houses were featuring some of them. Most of the lanterns were of a dark red with variations to purple and orange. When he glanced at a small store at a street corner he could see that those lanterns were on sale for the time being. “Chobul festival”, he read the peculiar name to himself turning to Hyungwon. “What does that mean?”

“Just that”, he shrugged, “The candlelight festival. It's an event to commemorate the end of the mutant war about a hundred years ago from what I've heard. It should be held in a week or something like that.”

“Wait, wait. There was a war?”

Seokwon joined their conversation with a nod. “A damn bloody one. A mutant lost control over his powers, killing a number of people in the process. Normal humans were upset, mutants tried to defend their friend and it all escalated to turn into a blood bath. It's a sad story, considering that both sides did have a point in my opinion.”

“A war based on a misunderstanding?”, Wonho tried to clarify and Hyungwon sighed, eyes trailed on the colorful lanterns.

“Based on an accident. It's the reason why we are now raised in facilities, Wonho. It's the one history-changing event causing our entire existence to be frowned upon. A defective mutant, they called the one back then. A deviant.”

Wonho swallowed and licked his lips chewing on his cheek. It was unjust, so unjust. _A deviant._ The more he got to know the worse it got. Every day he made new memories and they were never in favor of normal humans. The candlelight festival, huh? It was indeed a sad thing.

He was brooding for quite some time, walking slowly and a few steps behind the others when the warm breeze carried a voice to his ears that pulled him out of that state. Somebody was singing, somewhere further down the street and he pushed past a few people to get a closer look. The voice got louder, clear, sweet and emotional now. A crowd had formed around a single person with hair as black as coal messily styled upwards, the angelic voice coming from him no doubt. Many young girls were crouching in the front rows nodding their heads to the melody while the older men and women tapped their feet.

It was a cheerful tune at first but the song ended rather soon only to be followed by something sad, melancholic and painful. The young man sang of heartbreak, loneliness and the wish to be forgiven his actions, air thickening with emotions. Wonho was so fascinated he didn't hear Hyungwon call out to him until he was simultaneously pulled away from the circle by his wrist. “Wonho, what's gotten into you?”

“His voice is beautiful. Like honey”, he stated glancing back at the black hair peeking out from the crowd. “Do you think he wrote the lyrics for this?”

“He most definitely wrote them to earn money, like every beggar”, Hyungwon retorted with a roll of his eyes. “You like this type of music?”

“It's better than anything I've heard from Seokwon's player thing for sure. I wish I could give him something in return.” The singer's head raised and Wonho looked straight into his eyes for a moment, just a moment. It was weird, there were no emotions in them like he would have expected. But something was special about him, Wonho could just feel it.

Hyungwon let out a deep sigh tugging at his sleeve again to make him come along. “We should go eat. Gunhee said he found the cheapest place to eat at. We can come back later, if you want.”

The sad tune repeated in his head causing him to hum it to himself. “Yes, that sounds like a plan.”

They rounded a corner and made for a very old looking building with a traditional sign made of wood hanging above the door telling them the shop's name. The scent of spicy food reached his nose as soon as they stepped inside making their stomach's growl with hunger. As the others had already ordered, it didn't take long until three plates of different foods were placed in front of them and Hyungwon paid with a polite smile. The soft voice of the singer was but a faint background noise in Wonho's mind by then and he had to resist the urge to just hum along. “If that's the price we keep eating at I will have enough for something like twenty meals for all of us.”

“That's a lot, I think it will be fine-”

“It's not that much, we need more than just a bit of food here and there”, Hyungwon noted chewing on a spicy rice cake. He was right in a way, the amount of food would not keep them satisfied for long. “I hope we find some way to get money soon or we'll have to go with stealing what we need.”

“How did you even get anything in the first place?”, Gunhee asked through a mouth full of fried rice while Jooheon took off his jacket to remain with a simple tee, feeling hot from the spicy food. “It's not like you could have worked for it.”

Hyungwon lowered his eyes. “Right, I...I didn't.”

Seokwon swallowed to point his chopsticks at his friend. “Wanderers would pass from time to time and the two of us and Wonwoo would get some money out of them one way or the other. Sometimes begging, sometimes robbing.” Wonho choked on his food but the other remained unbothered. “There was no other way to save up, was there?”

_There wasn't, Seokwon is right._ He forced himself to keep chewing and ignored the uncomfortable feeling settling in his stomach. He hadn't thought about money issues before but he didn't want to become a thief either. What a mess.

“I don't know what I'll do first when we get those stupid-ass runaways back”, a deep male voice growled behind them causing everybody to stiffen and listen in concentration. Four men were talking at the next table, sitting down with loud groans.

“I know, right? We wanted action but this is just a pain. Fuck, I want to see them suffer.”

“It's not like they could survive for long without the control”, another added deep in thought. “Where would they even go?”

“Don't know but they sure as hell didn't return to the factory yet, we'll have to keep searching or we'll get fired faster than you can shoot.”

“I doubt that, my skills are impeccable. I'd shoot those mutants if only I knew where they are.”

“It was your shift, you should have paid attention.”

“The electricity went out, how the fuck was I supposed to pay more attention? I did all I could, man.” Wonho glanced at Jooheon and Seokwon, anger flaring up in his chest as he clenched his fist. Energy and blood were rushing through him driving him mad and the melancholic song that had been stuck in his head was overpowered by it. This wasn't good.

“Anyway, let's eat and then go back to work. The faster we find them the sooner we can get rid of this damn frustration.”

“That's all they're good for anyway, we should use them as shooting targets or something.” Wonho slammed his palms on the table and got up, furious due to the bad things he had to hear from those uniformed men. He had to control himself but it wasn't so easy, energy starting to collect in his fingertips. _Not now, stop that. Not now._ He wished for his bracelets but Hyungwon had stowed them away somewhere in his bag again and it was impossible to just ask for them now.

One of the guards had turned his head with a brow raised. “Startled me. What's wrong, you got a problem?”

The others had lowered their heads right away, afraid of being found out or, even worse, recognized and Wonho let his nails scratch over the plastic table. “I'm fine, sorry. A mere...a mere cramp.”

“You'd better get that checked”, another man said with a snort only to refocus his gaze on the little group of five, eyes trailed on Jooheon. “That's some sick scar you got there.”

Wonho glanced to the left to see that Jooheon had pulled his sleeves further down to cover his arms and he remembered the scar from when he had removed the tracker for the first time. It was something he could easily be recognized by, the situation got worse bz the second. Hyungwon cleared his throat, unable to suppress the slight tremor to his voice. “He was attacked by his brother when they found out he was a mutant. Was a tragic day. He can't stand hearing people talk about them ever since.”

“Self-explanatory.” The guard with the piercing gaze got up and rounded their table to have a look at the scarred arm. “I could swear I've seen this before. Have we met somewhere?” Jooheon shook his head a little as a gloved hand grabbed his right, unharmed arm and turned it towards the light.

_As if to check for a relocated tracker._ Wonho knew the guard was more than suspicious but he was so busy forcing the energy out of his fingertips that he missed the way Seokwon smiled and talked to the guard some more. He didn't know what they were talking about but the uniformed man sat back down soon enough and Hyungwon signaled them to eat faster so they could get out of that shop. Thankfully there wasn't much left and they could soon rise to their feet, chairs scraping across the ground.

“You should be careful out there”, one of the guards told them with a smirk and the energy returned to Wonho's fingers; angrily, even livid in a way. “There's a couple of those bastards running around and they've been pretty quiet but, you know, they might just wait for the right moment to attack.”

“We'll be careful”, Hyungwon pressed through clenched teeth trying to lead Wonho out of the little shop. They had almost made it past the door when a mocking voice reached his ears once more.

“I wonder why we even keep them alive at this point. This world would be a much better place if all the mutants were dead.”

Wonho didn't know what caused him to react but he spun around with his teeth bared. “Take that back!” A moment of silence passed before his energy just exploded like the times before, a loud bang turning him deaf for the moment and lightnings shooting towards the lamps of the room and in the direction of the guards. One of them screamed in surprise at the electricity and the other three rose to their feet in shock.

“Well done, Wonho”, Jooheon groaned before grabbing him by the upper arm and dragging him out of the store in a hurry just when the guards seemed to get the situation calling after them and scrambling to get to the door as well. “Shit, we're being followed.”

The crowd that was listening to the singer from before had dissolved, the latter just about to collect the money he had earned when they ran past him with the screaming guards on their heels. The black-haired man turned his head from left to right in confusion as if he was trying to understand what was going on but he was out of sight as quickly as he had appeared. So much for coming back to listen to him later.

Wonho lost track of their path when they aimlessly fled through a variety of alleys and streets for minutes, Seokwon and Gunhee attempting to make it harder to follow them by knocking over trash cans and boxes standing in the places to be forgotten. There were no more lanterns here, streets gray, lacking in color. The wind picked up, no longer inviting and beginning to tear at their clothes at some point. The guards were slowly falling behind but by far not enough to lose track of them and Jooheon's grasp on his wrist tightened in fear when they rounded a corner to something that suspiciously looked like a dead end.

“What to do?”, Seokwon panted at his wit's end, Gunhee shaking his head to show that he was equally clueless.

“There has to be a way to get rid of them”, he groaned when a quiet hiss reached their ears.

“You! Hey, you, come here!” Wonho turned to see the emotionless eyes from the street earlier, black hair falling into his face now. The singer. He waved them closer. “Come, you imbeciles! Hide here!” He pointed at a small hole in the wall behind a trash container, easy to miss with how the shadows fell into the alley and Wonho didn't let himself think twice pushing Hyungwon down through the hole followed by Seokwon, Gunhee and Jooheon. Something was fishy about the way they had simply been offered help but this was a matter of life and death and hesitating would only mean presenting all of them to the guards on a silver platter. He wasn't going to let that happen.

“Why are you helping us?”, he hissed with a frown but steps behind him cut their conversation short.

“That'll have to wait”, the singer whispered back before shoving Wonho towards the hole and there wasn't even time to turn back when the trash container was dragged in front of the small entrance just a second later, the ever blowing wind still filled with the warm melody he had heard merely half an hour ago.

A melody in the dark, hiding a face still unknown to the world.

 


	5. Mutants don't live like humans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The singer seems to be an ally, but is he, really?  
> And then, again, they walk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me long enough to write this one /sigh/ I hope you guys like it!  
> Follow me on @JesterFesta on Twitter!

It was dark in the corridor Wonho had been pushed into, the steps of his friends sounding in front of him being the only way of orienting himself. He could barely see his own hand in front of his eyes, letting his fingers graze the stone by his sides as he made for the faint and dim light he could see in front. It wasn't a major difference when he reached a small basement room, the only light coming from a small window that might as well have been a cat door.

He looked at the others who were trying to catch their breaths while chewing on the inside of his cheek. They had escaped the guards but for how long? They couldn't keep running forever and he couldn't find a reason for the singer to help him in the first place. _What if this is a trap?_ It could be. But then again if they hadn't listened to the other they would already be in the hands of the authorities, maybe even dead. Every second they could put off their imprisonment was something good. They kept looking at each other, breathing evening out with time until a rustling sound could be heard from the narrow corridor and they spun around with a start, Jooheon, Seokwon and Wonho at the front, the other two right behind them.

“You can calm down, it's just me”, the voice of the singer said, so different from when he had sung in the street earlier.

“A-are you on our side?”, Wonho managed to utter but much to his dismay the other only sighed.

“That depends on what your side holds. Sit down.” Following the order was the only choice they had and the singer waited until everybody was seated, back turned towards them in the dark room like he didn't fear the five people who were chased by guards. “Are you hungry? I have too much curry anyway, might as well share.” Was he...cooking?

“It's very dark”, Hyungwon stated the obvious but the stranger just shrugged.

“Turn on the light, then. I don't usually use that.” He looked around and pressed the button by the door but the lights remained out so he glanced at Gunhee. It would be alright to use the mutation, wouldn't it? The short man had to have guessed that they were mutants by then anyway and Gunhee took a deep breath before a small ball of cold and immaterial light appeared in the middle of the room to make the interior more visible.

It looked neat, Wonho couldn't say otherwise, but it was still perfectly uncoordinated. Stripes were next to polka dot patterned fabrics, the chairs looked like chess boards and those colors, oh hell, some colors would never look good together. Jooheon scrunched up his nose taking in the sight but nobody really commented on anything waiting for the stranger to speak up.

“What are you doing here?”

Wonho traced the pattern of the tablecloth with his fingertip, then decided that it was better to keep his eyes on the unfamiliar figure, soft melody returning to his mind. “Just passing through, stocking up on food and everything. We ate but not too much. If you...If you have some spare food that would be great, thank you.”

“I see”, the other replied turning to set a big bowl of curry down in front of them along with a handful of spoons. “Dig in. Why were you chased?”

Seokwon didn't pick up his spoon right away to reply. “Dunno, man. Weird guards came in and things just got outta hand for some reason.”

Wonho nodded, liking the way Seokwon spoke the truth simply omitting the significant details. _Like me shooting lightnings._ He took a moment to examine the dark eyes, following their line of sight to land on nothing in particular. Was he thinking?

He was about to take a spoonful of curry when two small palms were slammed down on the table. “You can drop the facade. You're the fire mutants from that incident the other day, right? You're the reason I earn less and you think it's fine to just lie to me? Bunch of assholes.”

Jooheon choked on his food in surprise and Hyungwon looked up with wide eyes while Wonho frowned with a glance at Gunhee. Something was not right. There was a literal ball of light floating around the basement and yet the singer was assuming they were all fire mutants? “You know that- I mean, we're not- we-”

Wonho raised a hand to stop Hyungwon's stuttering and got up instead to stand closer to the slightly shorter male. He took a step back, a hand running through the black hair as if to uncover his eyes but they did not follow him the way the would usually have. He was staring in his direction but not _at_ him. Gunhee seemed to have noticed as well and moved the light, shone it right into the stranger's face but there wasn't as much as a twitch from him. Wonho wondered how he hadn't thought about that when he had first seen him in the street. “You're blind.”

He walked back again bumping into the small kitchen counter. “H-how'd you know?”

“You would know if you could see. We're not all fire mutants. We only have one to be honest.”

“Is that a good idea?”, Hyungwon hissed from behind him but he was certain this was the right thing to do. There was something special about the short man.

“I'm Wonho, an electricity mutant. Who are you?” He put out his hand and their host hesitated for a brief moment before eventually taking the hand, squeezing it a little.

“Kihyun, heard your name before. Tell me about the other mutations here.”

“How would you know- Fine, Kihyun. We have fire, electricity, healing powers, light and skin transformation. Choose your fighter, we're all different.” He let go of the hand, a weird feeling settling in his stomach. Why would he know his name, it's not like anybody talked about him...or did they? There had to be more about the blind man in front of them or he wouldn't have saved them, so he took a lucky guess. “What about yours?”

“Mine? I don't-” Kihyun broke off chewing on his lower lip and burying his hands in his pockets. “Who exactly are you guys?”

_He's changing the topic_ . He could conclude that there was something going on with Kihyun concerning mutations and he was set on finding out what it was. “We're the ones responsible for the recent...complications, you're right. Yes, we raided the factory and got the mutants out like they deserved it. How long have you been living here all alone?”

“Why did they go with you? Why would they go against the rules?”

“Why would they accept a life of slavery when the world is at their feet?”, Wonho shot back with a smirk shaking his head. “I broke them out and it was their choice to follow me. Now tell me more about yourself, I'm waiting.”

“I-I'm just...some blind guy making a living with his songs”, he said quickly licking his lips and taking deep controlled breaths right after. There would have been no reason for him to stutter if there was nothing to him.

“You don't have to lie to me, Kihyun. I know that sounds stupid considering we were running from guards just minutes ago but you can trust us. We mean no harm.”

Everybody was listening in tense silence as Wonho kept trying to persuade the other until Hyungwon leaned back on his chair with a raised brow. “You are...You are a mutant, just like us, right?”

Kihyun shook his head, slightly at first then stronger, denying. “You're mistaken.” He turned away to busy himself with the dirty spoon he had used while heating up the curry, obviously fleeing from the conversation. “Wonho, right? I don't understand what people get from following you around now.”

“A glance at freedom”, he replied without hesitation leaning against the counter next to Kihyun. “A life to make a change instead of wasting away with nowhere to go?” Hyungwon was observing their conversation in silence, so Wonho kept going, held on to Kihyun's upper arm with a tight grip. “They can get a life outside the shadows.” His hands stilled, dropping the now clean spoon back into the sink and a longer silence followed during which nobody dared to even move.

“You know nothing of living in the shadows.”

The eyes mirrored his inner turmoil for the first time. His voice was so bitter, so sad that Wonho lowered his head to not see the expression belonging to it. “I don't know everything”, he admitted with a whisper, “but this is the only thing we can do to...to make a change.”

“You're not gonna change anything!”, Kihyun barked now holding on to the metal sink, head snapping around to him. “It's a death sentence and the only thing that will change is the fact that humans will no longer be indifferent but hateful towards mutants-”

“We know it's a hard mission!”, Jooheon interfered banging his fist on the table and making the spoons clatter. Gunhee tried to calm him down, reaching for his free hand but nothing seemed to help. “We know there's a lot of things that can go wrong, okay? But if _we_ don't step up _nobody_ ever will, don't you fucking understand?”

Kihyun's blind eyes were narrow as he turned to face the orange-haired male with a growl. “Nobody will because it's hopeless!”

“It is not if you just believe in it. Believe in us! We've been in that factory for _years_ and we don't know shit about how this fucked up world works but together we can make it somehow.”

“Wonho got more than fifteen mutants out of the factory and they were just three people then”, Gunhee added while rubbing his thumb over the back of Jooheon's hand before pulling him down to sit again. “It's possible if we believe. It's possible, Kihyun.”

“It was a horrible place. I'd rather die a rebel than work like that's all I'm worth living for.” Jooheon unclenched his fist and shook it a little to get rid of the small flames that had begun to lick at his skin. So much for controlling your emotions.

Kihyun kept staring at them – if that was possible – chewing on his lip and visibly thinking about what he heard until he made for the narrow corridor he had come from before. “Keep eating, I'll come back later.”

“Wait, where are you-” The small figure disappeared from sight before Wonho managed to finish his sentence lowering his shoulders in defeat. “-going?”

It was quiet for a few seconds, everybody exchanging confused and helpless glances while Jooheon calmed down with a couple of deep breaths and his eyes closed. Hyungwon started chewing on his fingernails with a frown. “You think he's gonna call the guards after all?”

“We can't know”, Seokwon deadpanned picking up one of the spoons. “But I won't fight while still hungry so we might as well listen to him and eat. Wonho, come sit down, ya should sit down and collect yourself, too.”

“Sit down. Right.” He took a seat on his previous chair, eyes returning to the mismatching patterns and colors covering the furniture. The question of why Kihyun had helped them in the first place was still hanging around the room, busying his mind when a spoonful of curry was pressed against his lips and he met the eyes of Hyungwon.

“Eat. Seokwon's right.” They stared at each other for a little longer before he gave in and chewed on the small pieces of spicy meat lost in thought. It tasted like heaven but he couldn't appreciate it.

“We can't trust him”, Jooheon muttered between two bites. “He's skeptical to the point where he could tell on us any moment. I say we eat and get out of here.”

“And run straight into the guards who know what they're lookin' for? Hell nah. We need a plan before we go. If he wanted to get rid of us he'd have poisoned the curry”, Seokwon retorted, equally pensive but there was nothing else to say and all they could do for the moment was wait for Kihyun's return and hope he wouldn't bring company. They didn't even know in which part of the city they were, orientation lost since their flight from the guards.

He didn't know how long they had been sitting in the basement, half an hour maybe, when they heard shuffling steps from the corridor and everybody jumped to their feet. Gunhee brightened the light to make sure they could see well in case of a fight breaking out even though their movements were horribly confined in the compact room.

“Calm your tits, there's no need to fight me or anything, goddamn.” Much to their surprise, Kihyun arrived alone, two big rustling plastic bags in his hands. “It's no use throwing you to the sharks, you'd just cause a scene anyway.” He set the bags down on the kitchen counter, seemingly oblivious to the way the others followed his every move in alarm. “It's more food, for fuck's sake, give me a break and keep calm until I've sorted this out.”

Wonho signaled the others to relax but Gunhee just pushed Jooheon and Hyungwon behind himself warily. “Maybe if you would explain your thoughts to us we would actually listen”, Hyungwon mentioned with his big eyes on the black hair.

“You're right, maybe I should.” He put down the bag of rice he was holding and faced them again. “Look, this is just not easy for me to admit, I never really told anyone I-” A groan interrupted his hasty word flow and he buried his face in his hands with a deep sigh. “Yes, I'm a mutant, just like you guys, okay?”

Wonho picked up on the tremor of his voice and forced himself to relax. This wasn't a confrontation with them as mutants but something Kihyun had to admit to himself. “What-”

“What is my mutation about? It's sound. Melodies. Singing, if you will.”

He recalled the way the other had sung in the street – beautifully, heart-wrenchingly – and the tune immediately returned to his ears. “It seems like a talent. How are you sure it's a power, many people sing”, Gunhee asked with a deep frown etched into his forehead.

“But not many can control other people by doing so, can they?” Kihyun chuckled to himself and glanced at Wonho from hollow eyes like it mattered where he looked. “You felt it, right? Were completely in trance earlier.”

“A mutation? I just thought it sounded beautiful. What do you mean you can control people?”

“Just that”, he shrugged. “I can sing and influence people's behavior. If I want them to give me money, they will. If I want them to forget about what they wanted to do, well, to some extent I can. You can thank that one for you not being chased anymore or they'd have found you by now.”

“So what you are trying to say-” Jooheon raised his hand stepping away from Gunhee and further to the front, “-is that you saved our asses by whistling some fancy tune and you don't expect us to wonder why you are literally out here? In the city? Mutants live in facilities, Kihyun, this doesn't make sense.”

“He's right, why would they let you run around with a power like that?”, Hyungwon added, curious rather than suspicious. “Even if you brainwashed everybody they would have you in the data bank.”

“That's why they don't”, Kihyun shrugged with a sad smile on his lips. “It's a long story of favorable coincidences that made it possible for me to live here, day after day, earning my own money with nothing but my own voice. I will not go into detail now, it's not worth your time. But what you should know is that there are more mutants who aren't living in facilities.”

_There's more?_ “Where?” Stepping closer Wonho grabbed the other by the arm. “Please, tell me what you know.”

He looked away as if to avoid the question though it must have been predictable. “There's a couple of people I know but they are always on the move, I'd have to look for them and that would take time.” Kihyun's lip was turning white with how he was abusing it with his teeth, deep in thought. “You need to find more mutants, don't you?”

“That's literally what Wonho just asked, yeah”, Jooheon clarified, shifting around and visibly growing impatient.

“Then your goal should be a city called Yongin, I've heard of someone who can see right through us. Who knows exactly who is normal and who isn't but I've never actually met him.”

Wonho glanced at Seokwon for more intel on that city and the other nodded. “It's not too far away but we'll have to pack lots of food. We'd definitely be on the road for longer than a day or two. When are we leaving?”

“As soon as we got what we need, there's no time to lose”, he replied with a curt nod of his own turning back to Kihyun. “Come with us.”

“Me? Ha, forget it. I'm a blind mutant with a voice, how useful would I be for you guys?”, he chuckled to himself and pointed at the (horribly) colorful basement they were in. “I'm doing just fine over here, I mean, I have a home. I earn my own money. Why would I want to leave?”

“Because you're sick of it. Just like we were.” Wonho kept looking him in the eyes, hoping to find a glint of what was going on in the other's head but they remained unfocused. The slight pout on his lips was the only sign that he had struck a nerve when he shook his head.

“I can't leave. I'll have a look around, maybe I can find the others I know. I'll send them your way if I catch sight of them-”

“Kihyun, please, your disability plays no part in this. You can see just fine or you wouldn't be able to navigate through here, however you are doing it, right?”

Hyungwon wanted to add something else but Kihyun just kept shaking his head. “I really don't think it's my time to leave with you guys. I won't just drop everything at once, I'll look for people and then I'll see what I'll do. Now let me prepare some food, take it with you and get the hell out of my house. It's too damn crowded with the six of us in here, I feel like even breathing gets harder.” A tiny smirk pulled at the corner of his lips and Wonho kept staring at him for a bit longer before giving in. It was no use if Kihyun was set on staying where he was, he couldn't force anybody and persuasion obviously didn't work.

The blind man went to work and cut meat, vegetables and herbs, swirled them around in pans, cooked rice and during all that time, Wonho just couldn't believe that the other was actually unable to see. “How do you know how to move?”, a whisper slipped past his lips but he covered his mouth with a hand thinking it had been insensitive of him.

Kihyun only chuckled. “The same way I found out about your name while I was singing in the street earlier. I can hear it. From the tiniest whisper of people to the repercussions of objects in a room. You could say I'm a bat, using sound to navigate?”

Seokwon snorted at that last part and rolled his eyes. “Batman? Come on, you're not even half as cool as that dude, don't flatter yo'self.”

“Batman is not even using sound, shut up, Seokwon.” Hyungwon laughed while stuffing his mouth with another spoon of the long cooled-down curry from before. “You're embarrassing yourself and us.”

“What the fuck are you guys talking about?”, Wonho mumbled scratching the back of his neck. “You two keep using words I don't know and I'm starting to feel dumb. Who's Batman? What's a Thor? This has been bugging me for some time, Hyungwon, you called me that before.”

“You don't know Thor?” Seokwon's eyes were the size of their plates and if he just looked closely enough he could see tears forming in his eyes. “You missed out on so much.”

“Okay, can we all calm down?”, Jooheon interfered raising his hands as if to show defeat while Gunhee just kept blinking in confusion. “I have no idea what you're talking about but can we, like, concentrate on getting to that city? If there's someone who can help us that's priority, isn't it?”

It was quiet for a moment until a slightly high-pitched bark-like sound could be heard and Wonho spun around to find Kihyun laughing his head off. “What the hell are you guys, that's the weirdest conversation I've ever heard, y'all should hear yourselves! To think I'm betting our future on you is suddenly a nightmare's scenario.” He kept laughing to himself, shoulders shaking a little as he wiped tears from his eyes and filled a couple of boxes with the finished food. “Wow, mutants rely on a bunch of comic nerds.”

“That's probably why Coups didn't think we'd make it anywhere in the first place”, Hyungwon mused with a bit of guilt on his face. “Jooheon's right, we can still introduce you to superheroes on the road, there's no need to argue now. Seokwon, ready the trivia, we have a mission to fulfill and Wonho to educate.”

Jooheon flailed about with a groan. “I'm with Kihyun on this one, why did I think coming with you was a good idea?”

“At least they're not dead serious twenty-four seven”, Gunhee replied with a shrug, grinning to himself.

Kihyun walked up to the table they were sitting at and slammed down five big boxes of food. “I'm done, now get the fuck out of here before I reconsider and hand you over after all.”

Wonho raised a brow crossing his arms. “You wouldn't.”

A couple of moments had to pass during which the other four stared back at Kihyun as well who tilted his head back glancing at Wonho with...was that amusement in his eyes? “You're right. I probably wouldn't. Now let's go, I'll lead you down a path and make sure no one comes to hold you guys up any longer than necessary. You'll be out in no time, pack the boxes.”

It felt weird to have the blind eyes show him emotions but at the same time, it felt like finally catching a glimpse of the person hiding behind the singer on the street. Everybody started making room in their backpacks to stuff them with the delicious smelling food and a couple of fruits Kihyun had readied for them. It really didn't take them long to be back in the narrow corridor, Kihyun leading the way while beginning to hum the melody that had been stuck in Wonho's head before.

“I really like that melody, I keep thinking of it”, he whispered while Kihyun pushed the container aside and climbed out of the small opening with ease. He held out his hand for Wonho to grab and smiled shortly.

“It's the one I use to calm myself down when I'm nervous. It has the same effect on other people.”

“Oh, that's like Wonwoo”, Seokwon chimed in from the back. “He's an emotion manipulator.”

“Sounds about right. Sad thing is I can't make people completely forget about something.” They kept walking through alleys and streets, Kihyun beginning to sing another song shamelessly.

“What are you doing, you're going to get us caught!”, Gunhee hissed with shock all over his face but the shorter just shook his head signaling him to keep quiet and let him do his thing. In fact, nobody even so much as turned their heads, like they were air, invisible to them.

It wasn't until two guards simply ran past them without even hesitating that Wonho got the meaning of the song Kihyun was singing, whispering under his breath. “A diversion.”

The singer nodded with a smile spreading his lips once more as he kept singing, wonderful sounds in their ears as they were escorted to a street that would lead them out of the city. The sounds ceased soon enough, nothing but a faint echo anymore and Kihyun finally turned to face them again. “This is where we need to part. The guards won't see you and then you'd better run as fast as you can for as long as you can. You'll find the guy you're looking for in Yongin, I'm sure of it.”

The others nodded and moved in the direction of yet another highway and yet more landscapes, Wonho staying behind with Kihyun for just a few more moments. “How will we find that guy you're talking about?”

“He'll find _you_. Just try not to cause a ruckus like back here, yeah? Here, take some, you'll need more food than what I prepared.” He pushed a couple of bills into Wonho's palms averting his eyes, which was rather pointless but helped Wonho with deciphering Kihyun's emotions. “They say his name is I.M.”

“What a weird name”, Wonho noted but repeated it in his head a couple more times to remember. “Thanks for everything, Kihyun. We would've been dead by now if you hadn't found us.”

“I know but I'm not always around, so man the fuck up and learn to control yourself, yeah?”

Wonho shoved him away without being to serious and smiled when he saw mischief in the blind eyes. “Your eyes are really beautiful, don't mask your emotions anymore, will you?”

Kihyun lowered his head immediately getting rid of his own grin and clearing his throat. “Will never know but thanks for telling me. But about I.M...” He glanced up once more chewing on his bottom lip. “The person you are looking for isn't a mutant. He's a normal one.”

“What? How do you expect us to convince him and make him help us? Kihyun, normal ones cannot be trusted-”

“I wouldn't send you there if I wasn't sure. Just know that he doesn't count as a mutant in this society, he sees mutants and he just knows, okay? But he's not a bad one. I've heard a couple of stories here and there and he'll help you, I'm sure of it.”

Wonho kept staring at Kihyun in shock, trying to process that they were running from normal humans while at the same time looking for one. It would be hard to explain to the others. _The others don't have to know right now anyway._ “I...We'll try. Don't have much of a choice, do we? Farewell, Kihyun.”

He waved at him shortly and turned to leave, joining the others a few steps ahead when the clear voice called out to him once more. “Wonho!” Kihyun had buried his hands in his pockets with a smile. “You always meet twice. Make sure to bring those plastic boxes back to me or I'll personally come to strangle you. I don't have any boxes left because of you animals.”

Jooheon was about to shoot back, same with Seokwon but Wonho just chuckled with a nod and turned around again. “Can't strangle what's already dead!”

“You'd be surprised! Now go, you idiot.”

He pushed his friends to follow him down the road, turning back occasionally to watch the unmoving form of Kihyun grow smaller and smaller with distance.

“That was some weird guy”, Jooheon said right away only to shrugged shortly after, “but he gave us food, so he's alright.”

“Wonder what he's gonna do now”, Seokwon added slightly lost in thought and Gunhee nodded.

“He's been living in this city for years, it seems. I really wanted to know how he even got there in the first place...”

“That'll have to wait”, Wonho sighed with his hands in his leather jacket's pockets. “I wish he'd come with us, I'm sure he would be a great help with that voice of his.”

Seokwon pulled his cap deeper into his face. “It sounds pretty cool, manipulatin' people with your voice only. If that's how it works he could literally rob a bank while singin' and that's more than impressive. Wonder why he wouldn't come with us.”

“I can understand him.” Hyungwon had passed the heavy backpack on to Gunhee like they had agreed on earlier and stretched his back. “It's a comfortable life, easy to stay in your everyday rhythm, nothing to fear. If anything happens he just sings and makes them all forget about him. I wouldn't leave either.”

“It would be boring though. I couldn't do that.”

“I second that. Your personality is literally like fire, Jooheon, you can't stay still for more than a few seconds anyway”, Gunhee chuckled only to earn himself a punch to his arm while Wonho sighed and kept his eyes on the road ahead, supposedly leading them to Yongin as Yeoju became but a dark spot far behind them.

The others kept their conversations going, soon switching over to superheroes – Wonho did not entirely understand why Hyungwon and Seokwon were so dead set on calling him Thor from then on – and as quickly as some minutes passed, the actual hours would pass painfully slowly. The landscape was still as beautiful as before – green grass, trees with masses of healthy leaves, a small rivulet here and there – but Yongin just seemed so far away. Wonho wanted to turn back and talk some more with Kihyun, find out about his life to understand what had kept him in that city...But that would be a fatal step back.

They were on the run, so they had to keep moving, it was no use staying back. They had to advance steadily.

It had been hours since they had left the city, sun setting and feet growing heavier with every step when Hyungwon put a hand on Wonho's arm. “We should rest. We're all drained from the chase in the city and we didn't take a break so far. Let's call it a day.”

“I'm beat!”, Seokwon exclaimed with the intention to flop down right then and there but Gunhee dragged him along until they found a good place to settle for the night, hidden by trees and bushes so they wouldn't be easy prey that could be seen from the highway.

Jooheon sat down with groan stretching his legs and back as much as he could. “My feet hurt so bad, I'll never walk again.”

“That's what you say now”, Gunhee replied with a grin, “but come tomorrow you'll have to anyway. Now you know what was so hard about the physical work in the factory.”

“You really carried around all that stuff all day, I'm starting to respect you.”

“What do you mean, _starting_ , you brat.” They started play-fighting, shouting profanities with a few giggles in between and Wonho smiled to himself when he and Hyungwon collected wood for a small fire.

“They are so cheerful.”

“It's better they are because I wouldn't be able to stand Jooheon's nagging”, Hyungwon sighed with a smile of his own before standing up straight to look at Wonho. “You're still thinking about Kihyun in the city, right?”

He dropped the twig from his hand deciding it was too damp to catch fire and glanced up at tired eyes. “I just want to help him. He seemed lonely.”

“He seemed to do just fine to me.”

“He's cranky but there's more to him. He would have come with us if I had had more time to talk to him, I'm sure of it.”

“You can't make anyone break free, Thor”, the taller whispered nudging him with his shoulder. “But your lion heart makes this whole suicide squad project feel like we're actually getting somewhere. I'm glad you started this.”

“It's not a suicide squad”, Wonho insisted trying to overhear the nonsense nickname as they strode back to the others. “We're starting a revolution like nobody has seen it before.”

Jooheon and Gunhee had stopped fighting, too tired to go on and the prior made quick work of the sticks and twigs they had gathered to make a small campfire that would warm them throughout the night. Hyungwon inhaled the night air with closed eyes and nodded. “Maybe you're right.”

After heating up part of the food Kihyun had given them (how did a blind man cook something this tasty anyway?) they decided on who was going to stay awake first, their bigger number resulting in much shorter shifts of guarding the group and more time to sleep. Lying on the sandy ground around the fire they fell asleep one after the other, some fast, some slowly, to drift off into dreamland and await another dawn.

_We're starting a revolution like nobody has seen it before._

_Nobody has seen it before._

 

“ _Did you ever consider how few a mutant gets to see in his life?”_

“ _What are you talking about, Wonho? Some jailbreak talk again?”_

_His chin was hooked into a bony shoulder, view partly disturbed by dark red strands of hair and arms loosely lying in his lap. His hands were curled into thick, white fabric, very resistant but easy to dirty. Easy to corrupt._

“ _It's not_ some talk _, it's me thinking about life.”_

“ _You're a philosopher now, interesting.” The voice with red hair chuckled quietly, shaking shoulders causing his head to bob up and down. Up and down. “True, we only get to see the facilities and some factories if we're lucky. I heard there's mutants who get to work for families as well!”_

“ _Families? Like servants?” The other always seemed to know so much more than him but it was not that big a surprise. He had come to their facility later than others, telling them he had been out there before. The other mutants thought he was just talking nonsense but there was something about the way he talked, the way he held himself that made Wonho believe it all._

“ _Mhm,if your mutation is useful to them they might take you if your record is clean.”_

“ _Count me out then”, he snorted while pulling away from the red hair and lying down on his back to look at the pitch black sky. “I wish I had a mutation that's useful to anyone.”_

“ _Lightnings are cool, you could work in a factory. I on the other hand won't ever leave this place as things are now.”_

“ _We could see the world”, Wonho whispered, lips automatically spreading into a smile. “Go wherever we want to and belong to nobody but ourselves.”_

“ _There you go again.” The voice chuckled again before shifting a little, face still not perceivable through the shadows. “The jailbreak talk.”_

“ _If I asked you to follow, would you come with me?”, he asked with a voice so thick with hope it was painful. “I want to leave so bad.”_

“ _I could come with you only if I was in full control of the...the things I can do. Right now, I'm not. And I can't say if I'll ever be. Wonho, we had this topic so many times-”_

“ _No, I would make sure you're okay”, he interrupted the other grabbing his hand and sitting up again. “You said you're afraid of hurting people but you'd never hurt me, would you?”_

“ _I can't make that kind of promises, you know what I can do.”_

“ _I do, so just trust me this one time. It will be alright.”_

_Their surroundings began to dissolve into nothing, the black sky spreading until it threatened to swallow them whole and the skinny hand faded from his grasp._

_He was waking up._

You must not wake up.

“ _You would have to let go of me if you left.” He tried to hold on, grew desperate when a tighter grip only resulted in the hand fading faster._

“ _No!”, he screamed into the darkness he was now alone in. “No, trust me, we can go together! Don't leave.” He fell to his knees, hitting the invisible ground as he kept shouting after the faded silhouette. “Yeha, don't leave!”_

 

“Yeha!”, Wonho muttered when he stared at the star-littered sky, eyes wide and so, so desperate to catch even just the faintest glimpse of the person behind the voice. It was quiet, everyone sleeping except for Seokwon who was sitting a few steps away and probably hadn't heard Wonho's panicked whisper. It was so unfair. So unjust. He knew the answer to his memories lay in that voice, he had to regain what he had lost.

He had to know who he had left behind the day he ran.

_Run, Wonho!_

Yeha.

_Come and get me but not now!_

His name was Yeha.

_This is no place for you._

Wonho would come back to get him, that he knew for sure.

 

 

༻x༺

 

“Any news on the factory raid?”

“We have tried to find out what happened but the security cameras were fried, the footage is lost no matter what we do. The guards keep talking of a bright light, knowing no more than we do. The light mutant they had must have helped with the escape.”

He listened to the authorities, quietly standing in the corner of the room until he was needed again. It had been like this the whole day when he wasn't taking care of the experiments gone wrong. People would come in and out to talk to the supervisor but in the end, nobody knew how the mutants had escaped, no, by the help of whom they had done so.

“Shit, I thought that one was the most obedient of the lot”, the supervisor cursed chewing on his nails. “We have to find them, we can't use deviants running around like that.”

_Deviants._ Those who had run away. Those claiming to be free from torture. Was it torture? Every mutant was made to live in the facilities, how could it be torture if it was their destiny? He didn't know whether being out meant being free. There was a time when he did but it was all hidden behind a veil, like blinds hiding an important memory.

A researcher barged into the room, eyes wide with shock and the supervisor growled with a deep frown etched into his forehead. “What is it now?”

“Another deviant, sir! We managed to catch it but it won't calm down.”

The supervisor glanced back at him and he instantly moved to the door. “I will take care of it.”

“You'd better. Don't be lenient.”

The blinds may have been blocking his sight, keeping memories hidden but he wouldn't let that influence the way he worked. He was meant to do this and there was one thing he knew for sure, replying to his superior without looking back. “I have never even once been lenient, Sir.”

He had almost rounded the corner when another uniformed person pushed past him in a hurry. “Sir! There has been a sighting of mutants in the city of Yeoju!”

“We're moving out right now.”

“In the middle of the night, Sir?”

“I said we're moving out!”

He nodded to himself as he made for the usual white room he spent most of his time in. Deviants were not tolerated. Deviants were a threat to humans and had to be removed at all cost. He had to make sure they were.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeeeeeehaw


	6. Mutants don't survive in the forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our friends make an acquaintance in the forest. Wonho tries to find out more about the world he was born into.  
> Jooheon is sulky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAHHHH I only have a couple of days left to finish 50k words, here is a long-ass chapter that does not feature a lot of character building but many aspects of the world I built for them!  
> Please enjoy it nonetheless ^^""

 

“Wonho! Fuck, Wonho, get up!” Somebody grabbed his arm in a tight iron grip pulling him to his feet while he was barely awake, almost collapsing to the ground again. He must have fallen asleep again after his dream the night before. “There are uniformed people, move! Wake up!”

_Uniforms?_ Wonho blinked a few times to get the sleep out of his eyes and looked into Gunhee's worried face. “What uniforms?” It was only then that the blanket of dreams finally lifted and he caught on in panic. “Shit, how far away?”

“Not too far, I mean, they have a car but they are searching the entire area around the city so we still have some time to collect ourselves. Half an hour tops if we stay undetected”, Jooheon explained with Seokwon leaning against him and almost falling asleep again.

Hyungwon pushed one of the bags into Wonho's hands before dragging him further into the forest, the others following in a hurry. “We need to hide deeper in the woods, we don't know how many of them there will be but they might not see us like when we had only just broken the others out.”

“I'm still surprised we were this lucky, to be honest”, Jooheon muttered trudging through the dark. It would have been too risky to let Gunhee light the way so they had to make do with the barely visible shine of the stars.

It didn't take long for the voices shouting behind them to grow louder and more aggressive so they had to hide in a set of extraordinarily dense bushes for the most part. Jooheon and Seokwon managed to climb two of the trees with lower branches, trying to remain undetected by climbing higher and higher while the other three remained on the ground. They didn't make a sound, didn't even dare breathing while pressing themselves into the muddy ground as if it would swallow them if they only tried hard enough. 

The sound of twigs breaking under heavy boots broke their silence, lights flashing here and there. Wonho felt so helpless waiting for them to pass, hoping to remain undetected. He was their prey and they'd do anything to lure him out but he would keep quiet.

“I'm sure I saw something move.”

“You've been saying that ever since we stopped the car but there's nothing here, give it up, buddy.” Somebody sighed but he didn't dare glancing up to catch a glimpse of their hunters. A good choice. “It's no use, it wouldn't make sense for them to be here, would it? If they wanted to run they'd move away from Seoul and if they wanted to attack the main base they'd be further up north.”

“We should look for just a little longer-”

“We're done here.” It was just the two men talking but there probably were two or three more scattered in the area. “Let's go back.”

“No, I swear I saw-”

“Sir, there's something like a campfire, about ten minutes away from here!”, a third voice joined in and Wonho who had just started to hope for this to be over as quick as it came tensed up yet again.

“Mutants?”

“Don't know, could be the kids from the surrounding houses playing as well but it's rather warm, they'd have to be in the area.”

“There are no kids out at this time, find the mutants!”

A couple of moments passed before the now three men started picking up the search again, more thorough and scarier than before. Hyungwon flinched next to him with a whispered curse and Wonho turned his head to glance at him and mouth a silent 'what?'.

Hyungwon's wide eyes were set on his hand that started to shake. “Something bit me.”

Before Wonho could shush his friend one of the hunters had already picked up on the sound coming closer quicker than expected. “Sir, I think I heard something!” 

“Fuck.” Wonho grabbed trembling Hyungwon's wrist and pulled him to his feet, Gunhee doing the same in the blink of an eye and they took off in no direction in particular.

“There! Catch them!”

The built up tension didn't cease the slightest from his body as they sprinted through the forest across uneven ground that was littered with roots and rocks hidden under fallen long forgotten leaves. They were faster than the hunter with his heavy boots and had a chance to actually get away but that's when Hyungwon's foot got stuck in an invisible root causing him to fall over and scrape his knee open in a way that looked beyond painful. It didn't even take a second for the tears to form in his eyes as he held on to the knee with a wince. “Shit it hurts, go, run!”

_Run, Wonho!_ “I'm not leaving you here!”, Wonho shouted, Gunhee already thinking a step ahead and simply swinging the tall boy over his shoulder before running on again. “Thanks, Gun-”

“Thank me if we make it out of here alive!”, the other just exclaimed through clenched teeth visibly struggling with the strain of constant running.

Shots rang behind them as the hunter was too far away to reach them and they hunched down to be out of the line of fire by reflex. Wonho could feel the energy of the lightnings return to his hands and he knew that they would explode once he got too close to their hunter again...But maybe that wasn't too bad a thing. He was panting, glancing at Gunhee who was at his limit while Hyungwon kept crying due to the unexpected pain and shock. Yes, this was the only way.

Instead of crawling further away from the hunter he moved right in his direction picking up speed and hauling off. The normal human, being taken aback, lowered his gun for a brief second with wide eyes before Wonho's hand collided with his chest. “Who do you think you are, pointing your gun at us?!”, he screamed, electricity flowing from his veins like he finally had control over it and lightnings sparking from his fingers to seep into his opponent's body who inhaled sharply at the contact. He didn't have the time to scream for help, muscles contracting at the electric impulses and he dropped to his knees without moving afterwards. Wonho hoped he was only unconscious and not dead because if there was one thing he didn't want to become it was a murderer.

He was surprisingly calm in terms of the mutation, looking around to spot another uniformed man he hadn't noticed before. It was functioning mode, like he could not let himself think about what he was doing even if he wanted to. If he had to hurt them to survive then so be it. The second hunter had raised his gun in the meantime and Wonho feared that he might not make it out of the line of fire when the sound of crashing bones reached his ear instead of a gunshot. The hunter dropped the gun to curl up like his colleague, revealing Seokwon with one of his hands just returning to the texture of normal skin.

Both hunters were knocked out for sure when Gunhee put down Hyungwon to look around. “Where's Jooheon?”

“Jooheon!”, Wonho shouted right away, fear gnawing at his thoughts. What if the other had gotten hurt? Where was the third hunter anyway? There hadn't been another shot though, how-

“I'm here! No worries!”, the nasal voice groaned right before Jooheon broke through the plants with a disgusted grunt. “Stupid bushes, for fuck's sake. They didn't expect us to sit in the trees, I made quick work of the leader.”

Gunhee sighed in relief and almost squished the other in a hug causing him to wince. “Are you hurt?”

“Arm's a bit bruised but no biggie”, Jooheon assured until his eyes fell on the hunter by Wonho's side. “Man, I never want to be hit with one of your lightning bolts.”

“I hope you never will”, he replied with a curt nod before turning towards Hyungwon who was just sitting up. “Does it hurt a lot?”

“I'm a sissy when it comes to pain, so, yes. But will be fine once I stop thinking of the blood. Some mouse bit me earlier and- damn, I blew our cover without really thinking, I'm so sorry.” The deer-like eyes glanced from one to the other and Hyungwon swallowed hard when he noticed his mistake.

“You should have kept quiet, being bitten by a mouse, what the fuck”, Jooheon growled. “We were in severe danger just now because you were scared of some rodent?”

“The...the blood, I just-”

“Enough.” Wonho shook his head and signaled the two of them to shut up. “They had found the campfire, it was only a matter of time until they found us anyway. Nobody is to blame, alright?”

His gaze rested on Jooheon for a little longer until the younger hissed and crossed his arms. “If you say so.”

“I agree. We need to keep a clear head and be more careful. I bet the shot from earlier attracted the attention of some other uniforms in the area, we'll have to function as a whole”, Gunhee added with an undertone so serious it left no room for discussion. 

The guard by Wonho's feet started to spasm from the electricity still running through his body and Seokwon kicked his stomach to make him fall unconscious again. “Should we kill them?”

“No, we're no murderers”, Wonho insisted shaking his head again and stepping away from the curled up uniformed human. “Let's just get as far away from here as possible and hope that they don't find us.”

Jooheon was not happy with what he heard, eyes narrowing immediately. “We should make sure they can't talk-”

“ _We should make sure_ to get away and survive without dealing too much damage”, he interrupted the fire mutant harshly. “If we want normal humans to accept mutants, what good will it do if we just kill everybody we see? How does that make us different from them?”

“Wonho is right”, Hyungwon mumbled into the discussion causing them to quiet down. “Let's leave and let's be quick.”

Jooheon looked at Gunhee for help, then moved on to Seokwon only to receive similar hard gazes until he gave up. “It's not my fault if they talk.”

“It's mine, if that makes you happy and I know. Now move.”

They didn't say anything else as they moved along, Wonho carrying Hyungwon on his back until the bleeding would stop and he could find the resources to heal himself. It was a tense silence, thick with Jooheon's sulkiness and Wonho's will to not talk about his decisions. It just wouldn't have felt right to kill them. They weren't animals and they had to prove it, Jooheon simply had to understand that.

There were more people out to hunt them, maybe two, but once they spotted their comrades on the ground they started panicking and carrying them back to their van instead of keeping up the search. “What a stupid decision”, Jooheon mumbled into their silence, hearing the anxious hunters shouting at the unconscious ones. “They know we're just around the corner but choose to help others first.”

“They're all scared”, Hyungwon mumbled into the crook of Wonho's neck. Though taller than him by a good bit he was rather light and Wonho worried about his eating habits. He had never really paid attention to how much the other ate but he'd start doing so. 

“Right, they were armed yet they didn't manage to even properly hurt us. They must think we're another league.”

“Not our fault they can't aim”, Jooheon shot back at him, still pouting because of the decision to let the hunters live.

“Nah, think of it this way”, Seokwon spoke up walking by the second youngest's side. “It's like if we suddenly couldn't make use of the mutations. You'd feel helpless even if it's just a moment, wouldn't ya? No surprise they're scared.”

“We're all human, no matter how different we may be in treatment.” Wonho let his own comment sink in with another nod. Right. They were all human, mutants all the same as non-mutants. “I'm just glad we don't have to keep running but let's move steadily. We need to make it as far as possible before they come back.”

It didn't take long for the sun to rise, the sound of car motors occasionally cutting through the air. The drowsy morning almost felt like a dream, Wonho couldn't believe they had made it through the night without another problem. Maybe the fact that the hunters had still been alive even bought them some time as they would be driven to a hospital first, who knew? The only sure thing was that they were safe for the moment.

It had to be around six in the morning when they decided to lie down for an hour to catch up on sleep. Gunhee said he'd stand guard as he hadn't done so at night, hunters breaking off their routine before it was his turn. Even though they were all rather restless and couldn't make use of the long time their feet thanked them for the short break and Wonho managed to nap for a while.

Just when they were about to move along they heard steps again but they were not like those of the men they had seen at night. They were lighter, less controlled, not meant to be quiet. They huddled up in alarm, shoulders touching to shield Hyungwon as only mutant without offensive powers from the unknown person. Wonho got ready to channel the energy again, fingertips beginning to tingle when the person came into view and had him hesitate.

A girl.

A girl of sixteen years tops with a face as pretty and skin as smooth as a puppet's. She was carrying a basket that had been laid out with a blanket, all kinds of herbs, mushrooms and fruit to be seen inside. The friends glanced at each other in confusion but didn't dare relaxing until the girl finally seemed to notice them, tensing up and blinking at them from big eyes.

“Hello?” He voice was rather high-pitched, making it sound very cute and fitting for her appearance.

Wonho blinked a couple of times, examining her neat and pretty dress only to think of how painfully disgusting they had to look after hiding in bushes and mud during their earlier chase. He must have looked barbaric, so he forced himself to relax and stood up straight. “Hello. Who are you?”

“I should ask you”, she snorted in reply but a careful smile remained on her face even though she pulled the basket closer to her chest as though she was scared. “You don't live anywhere near this forest.”

_We don't live anywhere in particular._ “That is correct”, Hyungwon replied in his stead and pushed past Wonho and Jooheon to get to the front. “We're just traveling through here for the time being-”

“Oh, so you're the ones with the campfire and the scratch marks. Hyunjin wasn't happy when he noticed them on the trees”, the girl stated with a giggle like only children would master under normal circumstances. She was just...adorable. 

“You're mutants.” Or maybe she was cunning. They fell back into their defensive stance in an instant but she only raised her hands as if to surrender. “I'm not doing anything, promise. M-my name is Seogyoung!”

Wonho could sense the discomfort radiating off of Jooheon and Seokwon but he was willing to listen to her more. It's not like a girl would be a big challenge if they actually  _had_ to make a run for it, right? “Wonho. Nice to meet you, I guess. How would you know we're mutants?”

“Hyunjin said there's no way a normal human could create scratch marks like that on the bark of a tree. It looked like claws but there are no animals like that here, so it had to be a mutant.”

Hyungwon shot Seokwon a glance, most likely thinking the same as Wonho. It had been scratch marks from when the skin transformer had climbed the tree earlier. It made sense. But... “How would...Hyunjin know that there's scratches on a random tree?”

“He felt it”, Seogyoung simply replied with a shrug and caressed the bark of a nearby tree. “He's a mutant like you, but for plants! He feels everything that happens to this forest.”

_A mutant like us?_ It was impossible. Why would a non-mutant talk of a mutant like their friend? It didn't make sense, it didn't match with the image Wonho had created for himself in the past couple of days. “You know a mutant?” She nodded. “But you're not a mutant yourself?” Another nod. “Then how do you know him?”

“He lives with my family. Mom and Dad said not to tell anyone but I think other mutants are rare to come by, so you're not just anyone. Please don't tell on me.”

What was she talking about? Wonho was so confused he couldn't put the information together until Hyungwon seemed to think of something snapping his fingers. “It must be like Kihyun said. There's others not living in facilities, he said that, right?” Yes, yes that made sense. But it didn't explain why the girl in front of them was not screaming for help or running away to alert the hunters that there were wild mutants out in the forest. She surprised them again when she kept smiling.

“The singer from Yeoju? You know him? I really love his voice, he's a good guy.”

“He is”, Wonho affirmed with a careful smile. Maybe they could get away easily for once as she seemed neither hostile nor frightened. “Now, if you'd excuse us, we have to be on the move-”

“Seogyoung! Where are you?”

_Would have been too nice._ The five of them took a few steps back immediately, ready to flee in case things got too dangerous but Seogyoung didn't seem to notice their panic turning around to the male voice from before. “Over here! You were right, they really are mutants- H-hey, where are you going?”

She made moves to come after them as they turned on their heels and hurried into the forest. “Should have known she'd tell on us”, Gunhee muttered in malcontent and Seokwon grunted in reply just when the girl's voice was heard again, growing faint with distance and the rustling of leaves.

“Stop, I'm not going to hurt you! Wait, I-”

“Hold up, we mean no harm!”, the male voice from before joined them and quick steps caught up with theirs soon enough. Wonho didn't know how the person behind them managed to run this fast through the rather dense forest (they had strayed from the initial path to escape and hide easily) but he spun with a start when Hyungwon's wrist slipped from his grasp. Their pursuer had grabbed the other's arm in an iron grip to keep him from running.

Hyungwon tried to free himself but it was of no use, the stranger holding on tightly. “I swear, calm down and let me explain, we won't hand you over or anything, okay?!”

Wonho hesitated for a moment before calling after the other three to make them halt and turning back to the young man. He appeared to be around the age of eighteen, curious eyes looking back at them. “Let him go”, Wonho hissed and the other just nodded.

“If you talk to me and don't run away again, fine. I promise not to tell on you.”

“Wonho, no, we-”

“Alright”, he cut Seokwon off reaching out to Hyungwon. “I'm Wonho, who are you?”

“Seogyoung's adoptive brother. She was so looking forward to meeting you, please stay for a moment.” Hyungwon stumbled over to Wonho who pushed him behind his back protectively. “She is a cheerful little thing, wouldn't even hurt a fly. We want to know where you're from.”

“We-”

“That's none of your concern, or is it?”, Gunhee interfered squinting at the man in mistrust. “We're just simple travelers.”

“Simple travelers that are mutants, sure. Are you the ones they're looking for these days? Boy, you've come a long way. Deviants usually don't last this long.”

“Nobody said we're mutants”, Hyungwon noted when Seogyoung broke through the thicket once more.

“Hyunjin, there you are! I was afraid we'd lost them.”

“No worries, princess, I got your back.”

Hyunjin?  _He's a mutant like you, just for plants!_ “You're a mutant yourself?” Wonho couldn't quite believe what he was seeing.

“I am. Surprised?”

“Very much so.” 

“I would be too, if I'm honest. Ever heard of the MIP?”

Jooheon didn't look too happy about the way Hyunjin talked to them, glaring at him from the back. “What's that supposed to mean?”

“It's an opportunity for good mutants. Give me time and I'll explain.”

Wonho glanced at Hyungwon, Gunhee and Seokwon who were both more than uncomfortable before shaking his head. “I'm afraid we don't have that time. There's hunters out there and they are catching up, we can't let that happen.”

“I don't know what your motive is for running away from wherever you lived before but you sure do seem determined.”

“We'll change everything about how mutants are perceived”, Wonho simply stated the truth. It was no use hiding their goals, not when Hyunjin was a mutant himself like he claimed to be. _An apparently free one at that._ What was this opportunity he was talking about? This...MIP?

Hyunjin let out a whistle and clapped for a few seconds. “You're dreaming big.”

“I just can't waste away doing nothing, can I? Since nobody seems to stand up for us I'll have to do it myself. Give me a short version of this MIP.”

“He sounds like Mom”, Seogyoung noted with a smile. “Maybe they should talk.”

“Agreed”, Hyunjin replied mirroring her expression with a fondness to his eyes Wonho didn't think a mutant could ever feel towards a non-mutant before he glanced up at their group again. “It's the Mutant Integration Program. We can help you, the Kims are a good family. You should come with me so they can explain.”

Seogyoung hooked her chin onto her supposed brother's shoulder. “Mom will buy you time if the officers come asking for you guys.”

“There's five of us, you can't hide five grown mutants in a house”, Gunhee reasoned and Seokwon joined in.

“They know what to search for. They'll find us.”

Hyunjin remained unimpressed twirling a strand of Seogyoung's long brown hair around his finger. “And if they found you at our place we'd be detained for hiding deviants as well. Look, I wouldn't suggest this if I wasn't a hundred percent sure you're safe in that house. Safer than out here.”

Wonho was helpless.  _The Mutant Integration Program._ It sounded interesting but what was it exactly? He really wanted to know all about the circumstances of how Hyunjin was out here living his best life in freedom while they were running from every normal person they saw. There were so  _many_ things he wanted to know but he also didn't want to go against his friends' opinions. After clenching his eyes shut for a while he sighed. “I'll accompany you. The others are free to choose for themselves.”

“Wonho!”, Hyungwon hissed in disbelief but his mind was set.

“If it's a trap, fine, this is it. If not, we might get useful information. Like I said, you guys can go on. I'll see what I can find out here and catch up later-”

“That's madness”, Seokwon groaned much like when they had discussed the factory raid. He stepped closer to whisper into his ear. “Nothing can get me into a non-mutant house. I'll be somewhere in the area so you'd better get outta there alive.”

Wonho nodded with a pat to their youngest's shoulder. “Don't get yourself caught.”

“Same for you.”

Jooheon was beyond malcontent, vehemently shaking his head when asked if he'd like to accompany Wonho. “With all due respect, I'm not going to be inside non-mutant walls for the time being, I'm done with that”, he explained with a shake of his head. “I'll stay on the route we discussed before with Seokwon, come find us. Gun?”

“This program sounds...intriguing. But I'm with Joo and Seokwon here. It's too dangerous being in a non-mutant house. We'll be around, don't take too long.”

With three of them unwilling to actually go to that house, Wonho turned to Hyungwon who smiled carefully, shakily even. “I'm with you. I want to gather as much knowledge as possible.” He glanced at Hyunjin with his fists clenched to suppress a shiver. “It's two of us. Three don't trust this.”

“Fine with me”, the young man said signaling them to follow him and taking Seogyoung's hand to lead them to wherever that house they were living in was.

Wonho took a deep breath and glanced back at the three who would stay behind, nodding at each of them. “We'll be right back.”

“You'd better.” Seokwon returned the nod gnawing on his bottom lip while Jooheon and Gunhee whispered among each other to discuss how they would proceed and only moments later, the sticks and twigs getting in the way caused Wonho to lose sight of them. 

It was just him, Hyungwon and the two strangers he only knew the names of.

He swallowed hard trying to think of emergency plans in case of this whole thing being a set up. He could not believe he was watching a mutant holding hands with a non-mutant. If Hyunjin actually was one. “Show me your powers”, he demanded to make sure of the fact they had been told and Hyunjin turned with a raised brow.

“You don't believe me? Think this is a trap?” The boy stopped and crouched down, one hand still intertwined with Seogyoung's while the other softly touched the soil to his feet. “Here you go.” For a longer while there was nothing happening and Wonho glanced at Hyungwon with the growing anxiety of having been tricked but then, all of a sudden, a thin green stem of a flower showed itself, sprouted right between Hyunjin's spread fingers and grew much faster than any flower normally would. He watched in awe when a white bud formed and finally opened to reveal a dainty little flower in full bloom.

“Oh, a daisy!”, Seogyoung exclaimed with a bright smile. “My favorite flower!”

“I really don't know why you like them the most. They're small and not very rare”, Hyunjin chuckled as he rose to his feet again, the girl giggling with excitement. He then raised his eyes to meet those of Hyungwon and Wonho. “Proof enough?”

“It is”, Hyungwon whispered, equally excited and happy. “This is beautiful!”

“Thanks.” Hyunjin's smile could probably have cured cancer with his white teeth showing and eyes turning into crescents at the compliment. “Next question?”

“How are you free when everybody is so...scared of mutants?”, the healer asked to take a bit of the burden from Wonho. It remained quiet for a while as they walked along the path they had found again and made for a building about a hundred meters ahead.

“First of all: Money. This family is rich and can defy social rules because of that”, their guide chuckled as Wonho could make out the shape of the house behind a few trees now. It was considerably big for a traditional house in the country and it was surrounded by the most beautiful flowers. It was obvious that Hyunjin had taken the tending to the garden into his hand, some flowers looked so exotic one would probably never be able to find them in their country. “Second”, Hyunjin continued, “the MIP.”

“You keep mentioning it, what's with that program thing?”, Wonho kept digging with a frown. 

“I would have been locked in a facility for the rest of my life, to be honest”, Hyunjin remarked with a hum while opening the front door. “But I was good. Behaved well, had my powers under control, never fought back. Well, they thought there had to be _some_ use for me and then the plans for something called MIP rolled around. It was perfect.”

Once his eyes had adjusted to the rather dim light of the corridor, he spotted doors to every room to the left and right. There were all kinds of wall decorations hanging around, masks of different cultures all around the world (he assumed that's what they were) were looking at each other from opposite walls and it all seemed somewhat...spiritual.

“Mom's into the whole mind reading stuff”, Seogyoung explained with a roll of her eyes. “Well, better than her being one of those brainwashing mutant therapists. Glad she quit that one.”

Hyunjin merely sighed at the mention of the job whereas Hyungwon went rigid. “A th-therapist?”

“Mhm”, the plant mutant mumbled without noticing the discomfort radiating off of the tall man. “You'll remember those if you were late to enter a facility. They talk mutants into behaving well and not objecting and stuff but she changed. I was there, I know what I'm talking about.”

Wonho didn't know what exactly happened during sessions with a  _mutant therapist_ and he couldn't remember anything about one from his time at the facility either (what  _did_ he remember anyway?) but taking Hyungwon's intense reaction into account, the experience wasn't a nice one. 

“Well, the mother of this house isn't one of those witches anymore, rest assured”, Hyunjin said walking up to a room at the end of the corridor and Hyungwon's steps grew more hesitant until Wonho put a hand on his shoulder to reassure him that things would be fine. Their guide remained oblivious, knocking on the door. “With our dear Wonho here speaking of making a change and everything, she might be able to explain the MIP better.”

“I can't go in there.” He looked at Hyungwon's tense body in surprise. The taller was clenching his teeth, shaking uncontrollably as he just knew they _had_ to know about what was going on. But the whole therapist thing had thrown him off for some reason. Wonho remembered something he had been told when they had just set out for their journey. _Seokwon and I cannot just...look at them and be all nice, do you understand?_ He did understand. But there were many things he didn't know as well, so he just grabbed his friend's arm to hold him back. “Hyungwon, you can wait outside.”

“W-Wonho-”

“I can see that it's straining for you. I don't remember, so I'll talk to her and see what info she might have and we'll be out and running in five minutes if that's what you want, alright? You don't have to be strong just so I'm not alone.”

“I...I don't...” He took a few controlled breaths before relaxing his shoulders and chewing on the inside of his cheek, voice lowered into a barely audible whisper. “I'm sorry.”

“Don't be.”

Seogyoung stayed back to wait with him, pulling him along by his wrist to show him Hyunjin's garden while her brother showed Wonho to the room where a middle aged woman was sitting behind a wooden desk. Her dark-brown hair ended right below her ears and big glasses were framing her face that had the basic shape of Seogyoung's. They really looked alike, he could see the girl was her daughter at first glance. The woman looked up right away with a smile, eyes widening in surprise when she saw that her mutant...son ( _adoptive_ mutant son, Wonho recalled) had brought a stranger along. “Who is that, Hyunjin?”

“His name's Wonho. He's a mutant, traveling with his friends”, the other replied bluntly causing Wonho to jump in shock. He was simply stating that he was a mutant without being cautious or anything like that was normal? If Hyungwon's reaction to non-mutants was only half as accurate as Wonho thought it to be, being a mutant was not very good in front of that woman. _Calm down, Hyunjin is one too, isn't he?_ Right, he had to remain composed and focused. _Focus on finding out what the MIP is._

“Is that so?” The woman put her glasses away and cocked her head to the side eyeing Wonho with a smile. “What brings you here, young man?” Of what use would it be to hide his intentions when he was already here, exposed as an anomaly of the system? He took a deep breath before stepping forward.

“The wish to make a difference, madam. Hyunjin told me about some program and I want to know what exactly it is. I thought you might...might be able to explain this to me.”

“First of all, call me Kyungmi”, the lady stated, eyes looking straight at him like they were analyzing every aspect of his behavior. “Second of all, relax, I'm not going to tell on you or anything unless you want to hurt my children.” She stretched her back and shoulders before getting up. “Let's go into the garden, the weather is nice today.”

It would be easier to run if they were in the garden, it was fine with him. He thought of Hyungwon and hesitated. “My friend is...a friend was with me but he does not want to talk to you. It's...it's complicated-”

“He's not the first mutant not wanting to talk to us non-gifted, a former therapist at that. Don't worry, I understand”, she laughed. It was somewhat high-pitched just like Seogyoung's, similar to the sound of little bells jingling. Wonho was just glad she didn't get her feelings hurt or anything.

Then again, what the hell was he doing? 

Mutant therapists. The term alone had been enough to evoke a strong reaction in Hyungwon, shouldn't he be more careful as well? Wonho licked his terribly dry lips, eyes not leaving the woman for even just a second. “What is a therapist?”

“A horrible person”, she replied casually but her eyes darkened with guilt, regret and anger all at once. “Sometimes I wish I'd never picked up that work, then again, I wouldn't have noticed a lot of things.” She reached out with her hand to stroke Hyunjin's hair with a small smile that was returned almost immediately. “Now then, I'll tell you whatever you want to but you'll tell me your story in return, okay, young man?”

“It's Wonho, miss...K-Kyungmi.” He pondered on her question for a little longer before finally giving in. It would be give and take with her. “Alright, we'll do as you said.”

“You might want to take a shower first? I don't mean to come off as rude but you look like you could use a bit of water”, she asked with a raised brow.

“I'd rather decide on that after we talk but thank you for the offer.”

They reached the front porch again and Wonho immediately spotted Hyungwon and Seogyoung sitting in the middle of the bright flowers. She was telling him about some orange one she really liked and it would have looked peaceful if Hyungwon hadn't appeared as horribly overcharged.  _She's non-mutant as well, he must be having a hard time keeping his cool_ , he figured glancing at the old lady again. “If you would let him shower though...”

“No problem, Hyunjin, could you show him to the bathroom? I'm sure he wouldn't want me to talk to him if he avoided even just seeing me this much.”

“Sure, mother.”

Hyunjin skipped down the stairs and mumbled to Hyungwon who turned back to lock gazes with Wonho first, then move on to the woman and back to him with more fear in his eyes. Wonho could only smile to try and calm him down before following Miss Kim to the back of the house where a wooden table and chairs were set up. “It must have been hard even just getting here. What did you see on your way?”

He picked up on her change of voice like she was suddenly interviewing him, trying to get information out of him. He didn't like it and pulled his shoulders up a little only to have her blink in a hurry. “Sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like that, I quit five years ago but the questions will always sound like this”, she apologized with a smile. “I'll tell you about myself first, maybe that will calm you down a little, yes?” He nodded and her smile widened, warmth in the big eyes.

“To explain the MIP I'll have to go into my personal history. Has it already been seven years? Time flies.” She pursed her lips with a distant look on her face, visibly recalling an event of the past, something that had struck her all those years ago. 

“I used to have a son, he would be turning eighteen this year. I was working as a mutant therapist at the time, going about my daily life like a routine, unchanged, unbroken for years. My son had the disposition for a mutation, my husband knew it and I did too. But there was no need for concern, ten years and more passed without him showing so much as a _sign_ of a mutation. We thought he was lucky. But, as things are bound to take the least expected turn, he suddenly burst out into panic on his eleventh birthday. He mumbled something of energy and weird tingling in his fingers.” Kyungmi drew patterns on the wooden table, traced the darker lines with her long nails. “We knew what was going on and with me being a therapist for exactly that kind of mutant, I tried to calm him down like I usually would. But things are never the same when it's about your children. Things got out of hand to the point where his powers broke out of him. It was ice. It covered most of our interior and part of the garden as well, cold and white. I will never forget his expression when he noticed what exactly had happened...”

Wonho didn't know where the story was headed but he thought it better to keep quiet and just listen. The woman lost her composure little by little and it felt reassuring to see her like this. If she used to be a therapist, composure would be her strongest point unless she wasn't masking anything, right? He could be sure that she was telling the truth, could feel it.

“I tried not to tell anyone”, she continued with a hopeless sigh and a weak smile. “We wanted to keep it a secret but it happened again when he was in school and that's when I knew that this was it. I had seen so many mutants, treated many of those who were just lost and in the need for contact with their family – something we could never give. Must never do. What a stupid rule to have...And my son would have to go through the procedure as well. I didn't want to let go. I begged, pleaded, threatened...it was of no use. Rules were rules, to mutants as well as to the powerless like me.”

“They took your son.” It was more of a statement than a question but he glanced at Hyunjin who just rounded the corner to place a glass of water and a cup of coffee on the table only to leave again to not disturb their talk for long. Wonho's throat was dry like a desert, so he reached for the glass and drank as she continued.

“I didn't have a choice.” Her fingers had stopped tracing the patterns, lips reduced into a thin line and jaw clenched. “That's when I finally started to think properly. Every mutant is their mother's child. Every time a new mutant joined my therapy sessions, there'd be a family just like mine losing a child and a child losing its family. I couldn't live like that any longer, there had to be a way of at least weakening this loss of connection. I talked to my husband about it and we came up with the Mutant Integration Program.”

“The MIP.” Wonho leaned forward when he understood why she was telling him all this. He hadn't thought that the person in front of him would be influential enough to create an entire program though. “What's it about?”

“It's not as great as Hyunjin probably described it to you, its outcome depends a lot on the household. But it was the only idea we could come up with to get at least some of the mutants out into family-like surroundings.” Her fingers curled around the handle of the coffee cup and she twirled the liquid with a small spoon. “This might sound really harsh at first, please don't think badly of me. I had to sell it to the higher-ups somehow after all.”

He frowned but nodded nonetheless. He still didn't have a choice if he wanted information.

“I'll talk to you from the position of a researcher. The most obedient mutants are usually those who are considered to have rather useless mutations. They can neither be handed over to factories nor to the military, so they are nothing but experimental bodies having to live in research facilities forever. It would be a waste, a pitiful waste because we have too many of that kind and too few actually useful ones.”

His nails dug into the wooden tabletop at that categorization. Useful and useless. Like they were various knives, some meant to cut things and fulfill their purpose, others rusty and unwanted. He hated it but she had asked him not to think badly so he would try not to. 

He had to try hard.

“We found a couple of people willing to...sort of employ a mutant. They let them live in their house and can restrain them in any way they liked, block their powers, for the most part. In return, the mutant would do easy chores like keeping the house clean or anything their...employers asked of them. There is a very wide spectrum of possibilities for the outcome but it was a risk we had to take to get the proposal through. If the person the mutant gets to live with is willing to learn about their otherness, the mutant will be treated more or less well.”

Wonho thought of that dream he had had the night before.  _“I heard there's mutants who get to work for families as well!”_

“ _Families? Like servants?”_

“ _Mhm,if your mutation is useful to them...”_

It must have been the truth then. Yeha had been right but a certain doubt came to him as Kyungmi continued. “Some of our volunteers have lost a family member due to a mutation before, those are the most caring ones during the monthly check-ups-”

“What if the owner is a bad one?”, Wonho interfered. It was hard not to come off as rude but the whole idea, though good in terms of its initial thought, was more than just a bit risky. “That's what your so-called employers are then, right? The mutant's _owner_.”

“That's a word I wish you didn't connect to this project”, she sighed but kept looking at him from dark and piercing eyes. “I suppose it would feel like that for you if it was a bad person. I'm trying hard not to let that kind of people get into the program but it's not just me who decides. I can only do so much. Consider the benefits of having a good person around you, though. It can heal so many wounds.”

“Hyunjin won't fill the hole your son left when he was taken.”

“You think I wouldn't know that? I studied Psychology, Wonho. Things will never be the same.”

“Then why did he introduce himself to us as Seogyoung's brother?”

“He may not be my true son but he is like a brother to Seogyoung. He's been with us for five years and treating him like a member of the family is the least we can do to get him out of the behavioral patterns that have been enforced on him during all those therapy sessions. In the official documents, Hyunjin is meant to be this house's gardener and nothing more. But look how just a bit of affection has changed him.” They turned their heads to watch as said male grew a bunch of yellow and orange flowers with Seogyoung watching in awe. They were both smiling brightly like the morning sun above their heads. “They get along so well, I can only imagine how wonderful it would be if only we could reunite him with his true family. In the end, human will be human, gifted or not.”

He got surprisingly emotional at the mere thought of meeting his family again one day. And yet this was not enough. Yes, Hyunjin appeared to be happy in that family but the only reason he was there was that he had obeyed, been good and never disrespectful at the facility. He was there, living in that house and laughing with Seogyoung only because he had been brainwashed beforehand. It was sad but the woman was right: it was the best solution he had heard of so far. Much better than being locked up in a white room in white clothes like a blank canvas at least. But it had to get better. They could not be satisfied until the so-called  _useful_ mutants were given the same chance. 

“You keep talking of us as being 'gifted'”, Wonho noted with his voice reduced to a whisper.

The former therapist rested her chin on her palm and watched the teenagers from afar. “A mutant is nothing but a human with an affinity to something, an element, a sense, literally anything. They are a powerful human, I'd describe that as a gift, don't you think?” Her eyes were warm while she watched Hyunjin walk into the house, probably looking after Hyungwon and Seogyoung ran after him calling out to him so he'd wait. “Those who are against mutants are just afraid of what they don't understand. It's a cowardly trait of mankind, it has been ever since.”

“I want them to understand”, Wonho replied with his head elsewhere, processing the information he had gotten from the woman. “How many...mutants are in the MIP?”

“It's not many, the government remains skeptical”, she sighed and leaned back on her chair. “We barely convinced them of trying it with thirty, most of them living in the suburbs of Seoul so they can be observed closely. Hyunjin was the first. A pioneer of the program, if you will.”

“That's so few. Way too few”, he mumbled and closed his eyes for a while to listen to the birds.

“I know, but it's the best I could do in seven years. What about you? What is your story, Wonho?”

His mood wouldn't even change at the cheerful song of the birds so he glanced at Kyungmi again deciding to come clean. She had proven to him that she was trying in the best way she could, whatever she might have done before her son had been taken from her. 

“I want to free us all.”

A hundred questions appeared to flare up in her mind but she kept quiet and let him do the talking instead. It was his choice what he wanted to talk about for now. She was exactly what he expected of a therapist though he really didn't know what her work had really consisted of. It caused him to smile. “I'll free every mutant I can find so we can watch the stars, walk through cities and live. Like any other human being.”

“Not a very easy thing to achieve”, she commented much like how Hyunjin had reacted to his words before. “But it's the first time I hear a mutant talk of something like that, it might be worth a try. It's dangerous though.”

“I could die. But at least I wouldn't live behind bars trying to suppress something I was born with.”

Kyungmi examined the way he clenched and relaxed his hand chewing on the inside of her cheek. “Judging by the way you talk, your gift must be very moody but also possess a natural strength.”

he was thrown off by her sudden comment and cocked his head to the side while she remained concentrated. “Excuse me?”

“I can tell that you have a clear goal in mind and it's not just freeing other gifted humans. Your name speaks of protection and your choice of words is wise. Say, does your power have anything to do with storms, by any chance?”

“No, I- wait.” He blinked several times to let her words sink and and compared her conclusion with his reality before his eyes widened. “It's electricity. Lightnings.”

“Close enough”, she replied with a satisfied smile as she crossed her arms. “Psychology goes well with observation, I knew it.”

“You concluded that just from observing me?”

“It's become a pass-time. I used to not really read my patients' documents before going in for therapy with them, there were just some things I just noticed. It's not like I'm a person who can feel you guys' energy.” She waved it off with one hand, still smiling but it grew a bit weaker then. “Now tell me, what's your motivation behind all this? You must have a very specific goal.”

Wonho hesitated for a moment, glanced to the side to see Hyungwon with a towel hanging around his neck, hair much cleaner than before. He must really have showered, meaning that comfort was higher in his priority list than avoiding non-mutants. Their eyes met and Wonho smiled to assure him that everything is fine but Hyungwon's gaze soon shifted towards the lady sitting across, turning just a bit colder. 

Priorities aside, they would have such a long way to go until mutants and non-gifted could live together without being hostile. But it was worth trying.

He thought about what Kyungmi had asked him. His motivation. “The more time I spend with the friends I made, the more I just want them to belong somewhere. I want them to be able to walk around and find their places on their own, but before that...” He chewed on his lower lip contemplating how far he could go. Should he tell her? Well, what could go wrong?

“I'm looking for somebody I seem to have left behind when I fled from the facility.”

She leaned forward again pursing her lips with a frown. “Seem to?”

“I don't remember well”, he admitted before going back to chewing on his bottom lip. “I don't know when I fled or how I did it. Don't know what happened to me in there, hell, I didn't even know about my power when I woke up just a couple of days ago. But I just...I just feel that there is this person I need to return to. His name's Yeha a-and...oh, what the hell.” He snorted, realizing how ridiculous it sounded; searching for a person you didn't even remember properly. “Forget it. It's probably just my mind messing with me.”

“Yet you are here right now, hoping to find him one day”, the woman sitting across deadpanned with a smile. “I don't know who that Yeha is but he should be happy there's someone out here trying to find a way to get him out. It's a noble cause you're fighting for, that's for sure.”

“But do you think we can actually _make_ it?”

A longer silence followed his question, only sporadically interrupted by Seogyoung's giggles or the chirping of birds. Wonho glanced back at Hyungwon again who had been given a crown made of interwoven flowers by the young girl by his side. He looked calm even around her but the way his eyes had hardened before made Wonho doubt that they would ever succeed. This was just one household that was accepting in terms of mutants, one in between thousands, maybe millions of others that weren't. It may have been a noble cause but was it even possible?

“Nobody said it would be easy”, the former therapist interrupted as if she had heard his thoughts bringing back his attention to her.

“What if it's impossible?” He didn't want to think about it but he had to know what she thought. He just had to find people who would believe in him and his intentions. She seemed to be the only one who would understand. _She created an entire_ program _to at least give_ some _of you the chance to see the world in a way._

“Humanity has found a way to achieve the impossible so often already, why not this time as well?”, she replied with a firm nod as if to reassure him that it would be alright. “I think you can make a change if you only try hard enough and never stop believing. Have a bit more faith, will you?”

Kyungmi threw a look past his shoulder and as he turned he could see Hyunjin who was approaching their table in a hurry, gloomy expression on his face. “A bunch of people have entered the forest, I believe they're searching for Wonho and his friends again.”

“Then we should leave”, he said quickly and got up with panic settling in his gut. “We can't put you in danger just because I was too curious.”

“We could hide you-”

“No, we overstayed our welcome for too long anyway. Thank you for telling me about the MIP, I appreciate you trying to help mutants, no matter the numbers. It's...It's good to know there's a normal human out there willing to help. I'll have to reject the offered shower as much as it pains me.”

“One has to do it, right?”, she just replied with a shrug. “But if you want to leave then so be it. The shower offer remains in case you ever decide to come back. Be careful or you might meet my old colleagues in a facility sooner than you'd hoped for. Go.” They shook hands while Hyunjin left to tell Hyungwon about what was going on. Wonho had no intention of getting himself caught and bowed his head with a smile. “It was an honor to meet you, Wonho. You only have one life. Make it count.”

“Will do.” Hyungwon was now running up to them with wide eyes, still distancing himself from the older woman with a wary look but more concerned with getting away unharmed. He smelled of chamomile and honey and it made Wonho feel rather gross with his muddy clothes but that was of no importance. He valued his life more than a long hot shower and they took their leave with another short bow.

Hyunjin led them to a small gap in the wall of trees surrounding the house. “Follow the path in that direction”, he instructed calmly. “Hyungwon said your goal was Yongin. Just stay on the path and you will soon reach a country road leading you there. Hope you can find your friends on the way.”

“Thank you, Hyunjin. Say, are there any more mutants in the area?”, Wonho asked out of sheer curiosity, surprisingly receiving a nod in reply.

“There's a lot of stray kids around but I don't really know about their positions. They are usually living in the area around Yeoju but with how things are right now I wouldn't be so sure of that anymore. What will you do in Yongin?” 

“Look for someone who is supposedly helpful. A friend told us of someone called I.M-”

“Him? I always hear he's known as the crazy kid of that city”, Hyunjin stated with surprise written all over his face. “But who knows? Kyungmi always says that the strangest alliances can be helpful at times. I hope you find what you're looking for.”

“Trust me, me too.”

Hyungwon was abusing his lower lip with his teeth, chewing on it until it turned a dark red and he finally spoke his mind. “Tell Seogyoung thank you for keeping me company earlier, yeah?”

“Sure. Now go. I'll get rid of your traces.” Hyunjin smiled at them once more before quickly stepping back and Wonho and Hyungwon entered the forest again, following the path just as instructed.

“What did she tell you?”, the tall male asked while they hurried past trees and bushes to get as far away from the house as possible.

“I'll explain in detail when we get back to the others”, Wonho replied, unable to stop a bright smile from appearing on his face. “But let's say I found out that there's good non-mutants out there.”

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely. You just need to look in the right places.”

“Seogyoung was nice.”

Wonho glanced back and examined the flower crown that was still resting on top of Hyungwon's head. “You took a liking to her, huh?”

“She's sweet, who wouldn't?”, the other snorted and picked up pace to overtake Wonho with his long legs. “You think this I.M guy will really help us? Hyunjin said he's crazy-”

“Seokwon thinks I'm crazy too, right?” 

_This is madness._

_It's crazy._

_Are you mad?_

_You must be kidding me._

He kept smiling, fatigue blown away by a ray of hope shining onto him.

“Me being crazy is what started this whole thing anyway. Guess we'll need someone crazy to take us a step further as well, then.”

“Seokwon is right. You _are_ crazy”, Hyungwon groaned throwing his hands in the air in helplessness. “And apparently, so am I, seeing how I'm still here.”

“Wonho? Hyungwon?! Is that you?” 

They stopped abruptly at the familiar voice. “Gunhee, good to see you! We found out that- wait. Where are the others?” They had turned to face him with smiles that were soon wiped off their faces.

Gunhee was pale like a ghost, eyes big and scared yet relieved at the sight of them. “Shit, at least you're alright. Come, we need to run. We have to find him. Seokwon is trying to find out where they took him a-and-”

“Gunhee, stop. From the start: what's wrong?” Wonho ran up to his friend shaking him by the shoulders and sending helpless glances at Hyungwon.

“It's Jooheon”, the light mutant managed to whisper right before clenching his eyes shut to calm down. Unsuccessfully. “H-he wanted to slow down their s-search and went to knock them down and then, fuck, things happened so fast h-he-”

Hyungwon shushed him and framed his face with cool hands. “Where is Jooheon now?”

Wonho didn't have to hear the answer, brain connecting the loose ends on its own and he stared back at his friends in shock when Gunhee regained his composure, voice barely a whisper.

“They caught him.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the longest by far but I couldn't find a proper cut until now. Then again, we're only halfway through my bullet points for this story :')  
> Much more is to come!


	7. Mutants don't believe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our friends try to fidn out what happened to Jooheon but things go a bit overboard. Then again, when do they not?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually finished this three days ago but never got to proofread it, so...here you go! chapter 7! And that's how Nanowrimo is complete with over 50k words, making my first year a success!  
> Updates will be slower now because I need (NEED) to focus on my studies for a while (been slacking off a lot lately...ehehe)  
> Hope you enjoy this chapter!  
> Write me on Twitter if you want to~ @JesterFesta

“What do you mean _they caught him_?!” Wonho's voice was shaking as well as his fists that were clenched by his sides. “How the fuck did that happen?”

“Bring us to Seokwon”, Hyungwon urged Gunhee to get them all to move, one hand on the back of the shook light mutant and the other's fingers curled around Wonho's biceps. “Tell us on the way.”

“T-the idiot didn't want to listen”, Gunhee stuttered, eyes still wide as he swallowed hard and led them onward. “We almost ran into another group of people a-and he thought it would b-be best to take them out. Seokwon and I were against it but he just...he just dashed off and threw himself into battle. He didn't stand a chance, even if Seokwon and I had helped him they were too many. I wanted to help but Seokwon held me back, said i-it was impossible to turn the situation around.”

They broke through another set of bushes to get to a big clearing where Seokwon was crouching by a tree. He had his map spread out and marked several places by placing stones here and there, not even looking up when they halted right in front of him. “I checked the positions of the facilities I know about”, he started explaining without further ado, feverishly staring at the map and pointing at a stone close to their position. “This is the most probable place he was taken to, it's about three hours away if we walk, two if we're quick. But we'd be movin' away from Yongin.”

“It's not far, we'll go to that facility, it's our only chance. Isn't that the one you were in?”, Wonho asked with a frown trying to understand which way they'd have to go.

“Can't deny that. I don't remember the corridors of that place but I guess I can figure out how to get in in the first place. I got out once, there has to be a way.”

“It won't be easy with him gone-”

“We need to find him!”, Gunhee exclaimed in horror, fingernails digging into Wonho's forearm. “I don't want to know what they're doing to him in there, I can't...I won't....I-I-”

“Calm down, Gunhee, we won't give up on him, okay? We will get him out of there but in order to do that we need to remain clearheaded. Do you understand?”

Gunhee blinked several times, stared right back at him from frightened eyes until he finally managed to take deeper breaths and nod. “I understand.”

“Alright.” He patted his shoulder with a reassuring smile before directing his attention towards Seokwon again. “Then we'd better hurry. They might bring him somewhere else if we hesitate for too long.”

They nodded and Seokwon packed his bag again before moving out of the forest. Hyungwon was walking next to Wonho at the very back, voice lowered so the others wouldn't hear. “It's a whole damn facility, Wonho. What if we can't get him out?”

“We have to try-”

“We could die trying to save one and then there'd be nobody left who would stand up against the system. Jooheon is-”

“Jooheon is my friend”, Wonho stated with an iron glare at Hyungwon. “There's no way I'd leave him behind. Would do the same for you or any other friend and I expected you to do the same if I were to get caught.”

“You're the head of this, of course we'd come to get you but it's dangerous is all I'm saying!”

“I know you're scared but we'll manage. I promise you we'll get Jooheon out of there and keep going.”

“How can you...how can you always be so sure?” Hyungwon could only whisper through clenched teeth, the sun shining onto them now that they weren't shielded from it by trees and leaves anymore. It was a warm day with barely any clouds in the sky but the overall situation caused Wonho to shiver nonetheless.

“Believing is the only thing I can do without needing proof, don't take that from me”, he replied with a smirk; a poor utterance in the light of their problem. “We'll see it done.”

Most of their walk was spent in tense silence, Wonho and Seokwon exchanging a couple of words every now and then so the prior would know about the details of the situation. There had been five officers out looking for them and Jooheon, thinking he could take them on on his own, attacked them out of nowhere. Seokwon and Gunhee had been in hiding so the officers couldn't see them and the battle would have been impossible to win even if it had been all five of them. Jooheon had been reckless and he had payed the price by being taken away about twenty minutes before Wonho and Hyungwon ran into Gunhee. Everything had happened so fast, Wonho felt bad for leaving them on their own but Seokwon apparently didn't think the same.

“It's not like ya could've changed a thing”, he just replied every time Wonho began to reproach himself. “All we can do is think of a way to get 'im back anyway, right? He was taken quickly, we'll get him out just as fast.”

“Right. All we can do.” He sighed and massaged his temples while they were pacing alongside the country road. The hunters had retreated for the time being, probably waiting for Jooheon to tell them something about the others. “How did you escape the facility back then?”

“Through the air vents, like in a good spy movie”, Seokwon replied with a smirk. “Yoonho and I wanted to get out together, so I took the tunnel system while he worked on knockin' out the guards. They thought it was just him tryin' to break out so they didn't notice I was a bit further ahead when they shot after 'im outside. We had run together and I didn't think much of it when he screamed at me to keep runnin'. I didn't notice he'd been shot until I turned 'round and saw him lyin' there, a good distance behind me. It was pure luck that I got out then but the price...well, I'll make sure to do it right this time.”

Wonho swallowed the lump in his throat, the hope he had felt after the talk with Kyungmi earlier vanishing into nothingness. “Did he...die back there?”  
“He didn't look like he'd get up and dance anytime soon, that's for sure”, Seokwon retorted pulling at the skin of his fingers to concentrate on something else. “I dunno, though. Don't even know if it'd be better for him to be alive at this point. I dug him something like a grave once I reached the shelter, all I wish for is that he's at peace with himself, alive or dead.” He shrugged, voice having grown sadder while talking.

It was painful to watch. They had simply shot a mutant because he tried to run. What if they'd do the same with Jooheon now? What if by the time they arrived, he was-

No. No, Wonho didn't allow himself to even think something like that. They'd get Jooheon out of that place and he'd be alive and they would move on to Yongin in no time to gather more rogue mutants. One day they'd come back and find out what had become of Yoonho. They'd see it done.

They'd see it done.

 

There was no particular image Wonho had had in mind when thinking of research facilities. It was all white corridors and rooms in his mind, no more and no less. But the thing appearing at the horizon and growing bigger with each step was...much more gigantic than he'd have imagined.

“That's not a facility, that's a damn fortress”, Hyungwon hissed in disbelief once they had made it across an especially big hill and could take in the sight of the building in the sun of noon. “There's no way we're getting in there.”

“I got out, there has to be a way back in”, Seokwon mentioned with a shrug. “We should stay here and think of a plan so they won't spot us before we're ready, huh? This is gonna be more challenging than that little factory we got him out of before. I'll call Heon the damsel in distress if he keeps this up.”

“He'll punch you”, Gunhee replied with a sigh, managing to sound much calmer than he actually was. “I agree, let's find a place to hide. But we have to get him out as soon as possible.”

“There's nothing we can do in broad daylight”, Hyungwon threw in with a snort. “We'll have to wait until nightfall-”

“There's no way I'm going to let him be in there for that long. We have to get him out and it has to happen fast-”

“Do you listen to yourself? We can't just run up to that fence without looking shady, I know what I'm talking about.”

“Then we'll have to think of something but make it quick and-”  
“Guys!”, Wonho exclaimed with a hand on Hyungwon's and Gunhee's shoulder each. “This is a situation that requires speed and agility, it's true. But we also need to get a grip and focus. Be cautious, got it? We'll look for a place to stay at and then we'll discuss this. Arguing won't bring Jooheon back, alright?”

The two wranglers glared at each other for another five seconds before slightly relaxing and taking deep breaths. Seokwon adjusted his backpack and cleared his throat to grab their attention. “There should be something like a small cave around here. I found it on my run back then, it should still be there if they didn't fill it up for some reason.”

Wonho couldn't express how thankful he was to have the little one, smiling in relief. “Can you lead us there?”  
“I believe I can.”

He could. It took them about twenty minutes to find the part of the ridge he had been looking for but once he recognized the nature surrounding them, he led them to a cavity in the sandy rock, the shadows at the back shielding them from the curious gazes of possible guards.

“Don't think it was this deep a year ago”, Seokwon mused while letting his fingers run over the rough and dusty material. “But it doesn't look like anybody scraped out more material or anything. It's strange.”

“I don't mind as long as we're safe”, Wonho commented with a smile. “Good thing we have you here, Seokwon. We wouldn't have made it past the factory without you anyway.”

“You'd be lost without me”, he grinned in reply and they set down their bags to have some food – cold, as nobody was there to supply them with fire without having to collect wood beforehand. They all ate in silence, visibly thinking the exact same thing. It was just not the same with only four of them.

They had to get Jooheon back. And Gunhee was right: they had to be quick.

Seokwon and Hyungwon headed out to check on the number of guards, returning shortly after. There were some patrols by the building as well as right outside the fence. They would keep walking around the whole construction in pairs of two. It looked like they didn't expect anything to happen outside and focused on guarding the interior instead. That made it harder for deviants to actually get out of the facility but provided an opening for Wonho and the others.

The biggest problem was that there were just too many guards who could see them. “We'll have to stay undetected for as long as possible”, Wonho mumbled more to himself than anyone in particular scratching the back of his head. “Is there a way to get a hold of those uniforms?”

“We could borrow them. It would be tough but a possibility”, Seokwon replied with a slow nod, eyes glued to the building in the distance. “The best we have so far, I guess.”

“I hope you mean steal because those guys are not going to give them to us voluntarily”, Gunhee noted, not yet familiar with Seokwon's definition of 'borrowing'.

“What about the patrols? We could overwhelm them.”

“Risky. They'd call for back-up”, Seokwon remarked while shaking his head. “We'd have to lure them away one by one. Anyone's got a plan?”

They planned for more than an hour, going through various scenarios of what could happen only to reach the conclusion that their chances of success were horribly low.  
Still they had to try.

It was about three in the afternoon when Wonho and Seokwon set out to observe the current two guards patrolling around the fence. The simple thought of what they were going to try caused Wonho to swallow hard but he only tightened his grip around the gravel they had collected earlier. “Ready, Seokwon?”

The other nodded with one last exhale, hiding behind the little wall of bushes and rocks they had found. “Here goes nothing.”

They started throwing stones hoping to catch the guards' attention and lure them away from the facility. They'd have to go after weird happenings after all. Wonho was trying hard to channel the energy that filled out his body while Gunhee was hiding further away at a place from where he was able to see the two of them as well as the now approaching guards. One of them would check on the stone-throwing creature or whatever they thought it to be while the other stayed behind to call for back-up if necessary. It was intelligent but they were prepared.

As soon as the overly curious guard was within reach, Wonho counted to three with his fingers before dashing forward, grabbing the guard's ankle and releasing the electricity he had collected at his fingertips until then. At the exact same moment, Gunhee let a ball of light explode right in front of the other guard's face, stunning him even just for a second. Seokwon wasted no time and sprinted towards the blinded guard knocking him out with one blow while at the same time dragging him back behind the bushes to hide him.

Wonho almost felt sorry when they undressed the two now unconscious young men and _borrowed_ their clothes. The black uniforms were cut like overalls and probably one size so there were no issues with dressing their admittedly very different body shapes in them. Once Seokwon and Wonho had finished changing they immediately went back to the route the guards had walked on before, leaving Gunhee to report back to Hyungwon. It would mostly be just the two of them from now on, seeing as the others would not be able to enter the facility.

A glance at Seokwon told him that the other was very nervous, fidgeting with the straps of his uniform and trying to take controlled breaths. “You...You can leave this to me if you're uncomfortable, Seokwon.”

“What? No, I'm-I-I mean...I don't...” Seokwon chuckled to himself and inhaled slowly. “This isn't about me or me bein' messed up because of this damn building. 'Tis about us getting' Jooheon back.”

“I just figured this might be hard on you-”

“So what? Can't run forever. Can't hide anyway. Let's go, we don't have any time.” He tore his eyes away from the gray and white building to smile at Wonho. His will to see this through was incredible but Wonho wished it wasn't so hard on the other. Still, he felt so much better knowing that a friend was with him in this.

They didn't say another word until they reached the first gate, that of the fence and passed it without any major issues. It was only natural for a guard to enter this part of a facility, the research laboratories on the other hand...They'd have to think of something for that and Wonho just hoped Seokwon actually remembered where he had to go.

The uniformed guy at the actual facility entrance looked surprised when he saw the two of them approaching and Wonho felt cold sweat run down his neck under the warm overall. “Jinyoung! Where are you headed to, already finished for the day?”

He wondered how the hell they recognized each other when all of them were looking the same with those stupid suits and helmets but when he glanced at Seokwon, he could see a small name tag attached to the sleeve reading 'Lee Jongmin'. They should have taken that into account while getting dressed. Wonho cleared his throat and pressed a quiet 'toilet' through his teeth hoping it would be enough to get past the other man.

“You too, Jongmin? What's gotten into you guys, are you girls or what?” He laughed and they laughed along but Seokwon then nodded.

“Drank too much.”

“Figures. Your voice sounds kinda strained. Shouldn't drink that much, dear colleague, boss might fire you, haha!”

“Oh, please, no. We'll be quick”, Wonho replied with a laugh of his own before bowing his head and hurrying past the big glass doors to the facility. Seokwon was right behind him when they all but ran towards the toilet for men and made sure nobody else was in it for the time being, releasing the breaths they had been holding. They were hiding in a toilet cabin each trying to calm down their beating hearts.

“Damn, that was a close one”, the younger breathed out and Wonho hummed, swallowing hard.

“I really don't know how we're supposed to find him here. This building is huge, did you see the stairs earlier? He could be anywhere.”

“We'll just have to find out some way. Let's ask the peeps we can find, maybe we can get something out of them.”

“If we don't talk the way they know Jongmin and Jinyoung we'll have a severe problem, are you insane?”

“Yup, I kinda am. But this is the only way to do this quickly, don't you think?”

“Sure but...How do you want to do this?”

“Give me a minute, I'll think of something-” Steps announced that another person was about to join them and Wonho didn't know what to do when Seokwon's voice hissed a quiet: “Never mind. Play along, I've got a plan.”

“What do you-”

“Shut it, _Jinyoung_.” He then went on with his voice raised. “Man, I'd do anything to see that deviant they caught in the mornin'. What about you?”

_What the hell is he doing?!_ Wonho blinked a couple of times, unsure of whether or not he should reply but a knock on the wall connecting him to Seokwon's cabin urged him to do it. “Uh, I don't know. Must be hard to get to him. D-don't even know if they brought him here or to another place, didn't listen that well.”

“I was sure they'd brought 'im here...” Seokwon seemed to knock on the other wall to the stall now occupied by someone they didn't know. “Hey, you know where they brought that deviant they caught?”

“That fire beast? Special experiments section on the second floor waiting for a therapist. It's what we always do with deviants, you should know that”, came the surprising reply and Wonho couldn't believe he was actually getting replies out of someone working at a facility while sitting on the damn toilet.

“Told ya. Second floor. Therapist. As always”, Seokwon exclaimed to keep the conversation going. “Thanks man, I'll try to catch a glimpse of 'im. Guard duty is boring, who would ever try to get in here anyway?”

“It's more important to keep these abominations inside, don't you think?” A chuckle followed the words of the unknown voice. “Well, whatever, you won't get to that beast anyway, strictly prohibited.” The toilet was flushed. “But go ahead, try and get yourself a good scolding.”

“Oh, I will for sure”, Seokwon replied and waited for the guy to wash his hands and leave before giggling uncontrollably.

“It was so easy!”, he hissed, smile audible in his voice and Wonho sighed.

“You could have gotten us caught. We should know about the procedures here as guards-”

“We don't and we're still here, right? Calm down we got what we needed.”

“But how are we going to get him out of there? He said it's prohibited.”

“Just like us being in here. No worries, we'll think of something on the way, I guess the blackout plan is still the best choice. Always worked best with you throwin' 'round lightnings. We have to find the control room.”

“Alright, let's move.”

They opened the doors of their respective bathroom stalls, still unable to believe that they had gotten the necessary info without having to threaten anybody and made for the stairs they had seen before.

First floor.

Second floor.

There were a few people in white coats here and there but nobody spared them a second glance until they stepped past another glass door and set foot into a certain corridor. Honestly? It was easy to find the room a dangerous deviant would be in if one were to ask Wonho – the only two guards that were around standing left and right of the door were more than suspicious. Seokwon pulled him into a side corridor, whispering with his eyes restless, constantly checking whether somebody picked up on their unusual behavior.

“It's only two of them? We can knock them out-”

“Cameras everywhere and you're telling me we can knock them out? No, Seokwon, I have to turn the electricity off first hoping it will give us an advantage. It was the plan.”

“The plan was far too complex so far. We made it here without actually followin' it, didn't we?”, Seokwon replied, urgency mixing into his voice just when Wonho's eyes fell onto a fire escape plan stuck to the wall behind them. If he read it correctly, there was a fuse box at the other end of the main corridor. He could make use of that but he had to get Seokwon to leave the danger zone.

“Seokwon, get out of here.”

“W-what?” The younger stared at him from eyes as big as saucepans but Wonho didn't change his mind. “This again? Really?”

“Leave the facility and report back to Gunhee and Hyungwon. Pull their attention away from what's going on inside the facility...Gunhee could use light to play with them a little? Think of something.”

“Wait wait, no, what the fuck?” Seokwon vehemently shook his head. “Why would I leave ya here when we literally just made it in?”

“It says there's a fuse box here”, he explained pointing at the plan hanging in the hallway. “I'll use that to take out the cameras, overwhelm the guards and get Jooheon out on my own but you need to keep them focused on something outside this building. We need a safe escape route.”

“You make it sound easy but that's not how it works-”  
It was a fitting moment to quote Kyungmi's words from before and he smiled weakly. “Nobody said it would be easy. But I won't put you in danger if I can narrow it down to myself only.”

Seokwon stared at him for a good minute causing Wonho to grow restless. They could be spotted any moment now and they wouldn't have any excuse for being on the second floor, they were mere patrol guards.

“Seokwon, _please_.”

A few more seconds had to pass before the young boy nodded, discomfort written all over his face when he punched Wonho's arm without the intention of causing him pain. “I need twenty minutes.”

“We can do this. And don't come back in case of danger, I'll find a way out. Take care of yourself.”

They nodded to each other once more before parting ways, Wonho's chest feeling a little lighter without having to worry about Seokwon. It's not that he wasn't capable of helping, he had proven that argument wrong during the factory raid and so much more often than anybody else of their group, but Wonho just didn't want to be held responsible if something were to happen to his friends. Not again.

It was already bad enough that Jooheon got caught while he wasn't there to help.

He studied the fire escape plan for a little longer, tried to make sense of all the symbols and arrows until he thought he'd found a good path to escape on. The chances of success had been low from the start but he was positive that this could actually work.

After taking a careful look around, he strode through the corridor as if there was nothing unusual about it, passing the two guards in front of the room without earning a reaction of any kind from them. He glanced through the small rectangular window in the white door and spotted a white room. The huelessness of the image alone was already enough to send shivers down his spine but he could see something else – a curled up figure on the floor. It had to be Jooheon. It took all of his resources to not just bang the guards' heads against the nearest wall and break the lock on the door. It was dangerous. _Take out the electricity first. No electricity, no cameras._

Seokwon would have made it past the building's front door by then approaching the fence and Wonho counted the seconds in his head to stay focused. Not a moment of distraction was allowed in his situation and he rounded a corner to find a big white box-like cupboard hanging on the wall. It was just as white as everything else in that facility and he reached for the handles of the thin metal doors without much hesitation when suddenly, an ear-piercing sound rang through the air and rendered him immobile.

A siren. It was the sound of a siren.

He glanced around, thought he had been caught but there was nobody in the hallway who could have seen him. His eyes fell on a red light that was Turning. Turning round and round. It felt so much like that horrifyingly panic-filled dream he had had that he could only keep staring at the red color.

Fear flared up in his chest. Panic entered his mind. He tried to think but it was not easy. He hadn't been caught, no, nobody was there and nobody came for him either.

And if it wasn't him, there was only one option.

_Seokwon._

“Fuck”, he managed to breathe out before turning his back on the fuse box and running back to the other end of the corridor, down the stairs, down, down, _down._

Second floor.

First floor.

“What's going on?”, he shouted at another uniformed person who was running past him. From the way it looked, it seemed to be a woman but it was hard to tell with the helmet and all.

“Some unidentified mutant! Pretended to be a guard and tried to get out!”, she replied between two breaths and Wonho had no choice but to run after her, seeing the huge amount of uniforms running around just like him.

_Oh, please, no._ There were some on the ground, three, maybe four and a handful others had their guns pointed at the same target – Seokwon who was fighting near the fence right next to a huge truck. He had almost made it past the gate it seemed. Wonho didn't think it would go wrong, the simple act of getting out on your own.

More guards entered the space between fence and building, shots ringing through the air but showing no effect against Seokwon's skin made of gold. The question was how long he'd be able to keep that up. Wonho had to act, he had to draw their attention away from him so he'd be able to get away somehow. Things had gone to shit without them even getting to Jooheon, he hadn't thought it to be  _this_ hard. The factory raid had been too easy. This was a punch to his face, a wake-up call.

He couldn't allow them to catch Seokwon, he had done so much to keep them going, had helped with all he could. Wonho was not going to let him fall into some therapist's hands. He owed him big-time. 

Another inhale. Another exhale.

The panic that had settled in his stomach by then transformed into energy, fueled his body with unforeseen power when he screamed at the top of his lungs. Many turned their heads, Seokwon as well and though Wonho couldn't see his eyes behind the veil of the black helmet, he knew the other was surprised to see him there. He couldn't let him be caught. He couldn't let him get hurt. He had to draw away the attention.

“Won! _Run_!”

With these words, he stormed forward, knocked over one of the guards with a gun and went straight for the next while electricity collected at his fingertips, growing so dense his veins seemed to glow and his blood appeared to fizz with the tension. This was it, he had to do it.

“If there's anyone you should catch it's me, you imbeciles!”

“Wonho, no!” Seokwon's warning came too late. He released all the electricity at once, lightnings shooting from his body with no direction in particular.

It hurt. It was painful to let all the pent up energy go but it was all he could do. Guards dropped to the ground, jerking from right to left much like the hunter he had all but electrocuted that night. Wonho could only hope Seokwon had taken the opportunity to get away as he kept firing tiny lightnings here and there. The attack had drained him down to the core causing him to lose focus. “I'll be fine!” He tried to hold on, threw himself at every guard that could possibly stand in Seokwon's way while fleeing but he was soon overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people pressing him down, a knee painfully drilling into his spine. “I'll be fine.” He thrashed around. Threw his fists left and right trying to hit something, anything.

He felt the sting of a needle.

This was it, they had caught him.

The sting of a cool needle.

Liquid fire burning through his veins.

Burning up his body until there was nothing left but blackness. The comforting, indifferent blackness he had so often seen in the night sky above the facility roof.

 

“ _Sometimes I ask myself whether I will ever be able to use my mutation for something...good.”_

_He glanced up at Yeha seeing nothing but a sharp jawline and gigantic nostrils. Very endearing. “I'm sure you will. You just have to channel it correctly and you won't have a problem anymore.”_

“ _I mean, they want me to help with the therapies, that's what the instructor said at least, but I don't think I'm ready for that. I could hurt the mutants. What if I cause irreversible damage?”_

“ _You're overthinking this. But do you think brainwashing others should be considered a...good use for your powers?”_

_Yeha let out a dry laugh and combed through Wonho's hair while thinking in silence for a moment. “It's important that we don't hurt others just because we have the power to do so. It's basic but it's something we need to learn when we get here nonetheless. Teaching them could be my job, don't you think?”_

“I think _you are letting them control you way too much but you're never listening to that one”, he snorted in return crossing his arms in front of his chest while lying down. “You're not a killer machine but you still believe what they're telling you-”_

“ _It's because I've caused others enough pain. It's better to be in here knowing others are out there living well as long as I'm gone. Besides, I don't listen to your jailbreak talk either, shouldn't be new to you.”_

“ _Woah, hold up there, never say that again.”_

“ _I told you a hundred times already, we're not going to break out of here to-”_

“ _Not that, the other thing. Don't ever say people are better off with you gone, you hear me?” He reached up to cup Yeha's face and caressed his cheek hoping to convey what he wanted. “I wouldn't be who I am without you. You know that, right?”_

“ _I hate when you get serious, go back to being a bulky dork.” His hand was removed from the Yeha's face that turned away, probably to hide a smirk like he usually would. Wonho just couldn't remember what that looked like though._

“ _Your_ bulky dork _is saying that you started this.”_

_Yeha slapped his upper arm halfheartedly. “Keep this up and I'll think of a worse nickname, Wonho.”_

_They chuckled together, one carefree, the other rather bitter._

_Wonho couldn't tell who did what when the scenery blurred._

“Wonho. Wonho!”

_That wasn't Yeha._

“Wonho, come on, wake up. Please wake up.”

He was back in the darkness. No more Yeha, no more light on the rooftop of the facility, no conversation. The only thing he felt was that something was continuously shaking his body and a voice kept calling his name. Everything felt so heavy from his feet made of lead up to his fuzzy brain that must have transformed into an iron ball while he'd been asleep. He barely managed to open his eyes.

“Wonho, come to your senses.” Fingers pressing against the side of his neck, probably looking for his pulse.

What had happened? Kyungmi, Hyunjin and Seogyoung. They had talked about the MIP, then went back to meet up with Gunhee and Seokwon and Jooheon- Yes, they had entered the facility to break him out and then he...he had been caught. At least Wonho hoped it had only been him.

“Wonho? You hear me?”

The voice sounded weak, not more than a whisper, but he was sure it was Jooheon's. He forced his eyes open noticing the white walls right away along with the fire mutant's worried eyes staring back at him. So he was alright. “Did we...make it?” Was that his voice? Hoarse, drained, painful to listen to like he had swallowed sandpaper just before.

“Oh thank God”, Jooheon sighed in relief leaning back to take a calming breath. “Make what? You got yourself caught, that's all you did, dumbass.” _Bulky dork_. “Shit this is getting worse by the second, why did you even come here?”

“To get you out, why else?”

The younger let out a groan barely keeping himself from banging his head against the wall, apparently. “Look, I know I fucked up when I went for those guards but you weren't there and I got so mad and it's my own fault I landed here and now you-” He broke off, wildly gesturing around but Wonho only furrowed his brows.

“Jooheon, what are you trying to say?”

“You should have left me to them!” The shout had them shut up for the seconds following after that, furious eyes staring back at confused ones. In the end, the furious eyes caved and averted their fiery gaze. “I'm just saying that I was fine with being abandoned. Was my own stupidity after all-”

“I would never have left you behind. _We_ would never have”, Wonho breathed out, surprised that the other would even think that way. He wanted to grab his arm but did not find the strength so he just remained seated on the floor staring at him. “You're my friend. And Seokwon's. And Hyungwon's. And imagine Gunhee's reaction when he saw you being taken away. How could we have moved on just like that? You belong with us and we wouldn't abandon you.”

Jooheon glanced at him occasionally, otherwise staring at the white wall like it would collapse if only he stared hard enough. “Y-you really...” A sniffle sounded through the room before he seemed to collect himself again with a snort. “You really are the dumbest mutant I had the honor of meeting so far. Look what your sense for companionship led to.”

“At least I know you're fine. That's something.” Wonho shrugged feeling the strain of that simple movement and whined. “What did they do to me?”

“They injected you with that thing they use to temporarily block out a mutation. Looked nasty. Another cause could be that you used up your entire energy. Rings a bell?”

He remembered the sparks. The lightnings. The shock wave. All those soldiers knocked to the ground, yelling in pain. “Maybe it's both. I had to divert their attention so Seokwon could get away.”

“No wonder you were out cold for so long. But looks like it worked. They weren't speaking of another detained mutant, Seokwon must have slipped through their fingers.”

“Good to hear.” It was relieving to say the least. As long as the youngest got out he was fine. At least he wasn't responsible for him suffering or anything the like.

Steps could be heard in the corridor and Jooheon dropped to the ground, signaling Wonho to do the same and closed his eyes. “Don't move.”

He complied, too dazed to actually think about why exactly they had to do this until the steps came to a halt in front of their door. A few deep breaths later, they grew distant again and he could see Jooheon count by tapping his fingers against the cold white tiles on the floor. “Alright”, he whispered opening his eyes. “I'm afraid they'll do something as soon as they know we're awake. The younger then sighed and finally gave up on the tough act, sitting up with hunched shoulders. “What will they do to us though? Therapy? Questioning? Torture?” He swallowed hard, fingers beginning to shake. “I don't want torture.”

It seemed odd, seeing Jooheon grow anxious. His blood had been boiling ever since Wonho had first met him and it was unsettling to watch as the facade crumbled. “I don't want that either”, he whispered quietly. “We need to get out of here.”

“Out? Do you listen to yourself right now?” Jooheon huffed and rolled his eyes. “Look, you didn't even get _in_ unharmed. You ran from some facility before and somehow lost your memory on the way. Seokwon once said his friend had to be _left behind_ for him to get out, trying to run would be suicide!” His voice had grown louder and louder, panic now more than evident on his face as the realization kicked in. They were trapped and there was, in fact, no way out for the moment.

Wonho put his hands on Jooheon's shoulders as a comforting gesture. “Breathe calmly. We must not let this get to our heads. We're fine, at least we've got each other. They will come in sooner or later and they'll do whatever but remember that I got you and you got me right now. You're not alone in this.”

“Not alone in this”, the younger repeated, eyes still wide and hands fidgeting with the hem of his shirt in restlessness. “I got you.”

“Right. Plus, there's still three people out there who'd do whatever they can to help, no matter how, no matter how long it might take. They wouldn't give up on us just like I wouldn't give up on you.”

This whole pep talk thing went a lot better than planned, words just flowing past Wonho's lips like he knew exactly what he had to say to calm the other down. He managed to smile weakly. “Or do you think Gunhee would just leave you behind after he even came back to join our little messed up group?”

“Gun...” Jooheon took a couple of deep breaths, closed his eyes, formed fists with his hands. It was working, he began to relax, just slightly but it was a step in the right direction. “You're right.”

Wonho nodded with determination. “You good, buddy?”

“I'll be fine.”

“Good. Because we need to maintain this strength of mind. We won't let them break us here. Not again.”

Wonho let his hands slip off Jooheon's shoulders and had to lie back down because of his weakened body. His friend lay down with him and they stared at the white ceiling in silence for a couple of minutes before Jooheon spoke up again. “Didn't you tell us you were looking for someone? What if they're here?”

_Yeha._ Wonho inhaled sharply at that thought, felt a spark of hope ignite in his heart but it was soon compromised to nothing but ashes again. From what he remembered from the rooftop, there had been a couple more surrounding buildings but the facility they were in right then and there was situated right in between hills and mountains, secluded and lonely. “I don't think he's here”, he whispered with a bitter taste in his mouth. “There were more buildings where he was.”

“Must be closer to Seoul then. Maybe even the main facility”, Jooheon mused with a frown. “Then why would you wake up so far south-east? You can't have walked that far without remembering how exactly you got to that shelter thing you were talking about.”

“You're right, it's strange. Are there no facilities around that are bigger than this one?”

“From what Seokwon told me? Nope.” Again they fell silent, time ticking by without Wonho actually being able to keep track of it. There was no window in the room, just some long chair like a dentist's, a couple of machines and a plastic chair. They didn't bother sitting on either of them, the floor was just as comfortable.

But Jooheon had made a point, why would Wonho wake up somewhere near Yeoju when there was no facility corresponding to the image in his memories in the area? He felt like he should remember something but he could just not recall what exactly.

His thoughts were interrupted when the door to their room clicked and the murmur of hushed orders could be heard. He glanced Jooheon who just stared back at him in panic, so he mouthed a soundless 'stay down' before sitting up and turning to look at the lady entering. She must have been in her mid-forties, brown hair curling in a way so perfect it couldn't be natural. Red lipstick enhanced the shape of her mouth when she pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow at him.  
“So you're awake.” A voice cold as ice. Wonho wanted to reply but every word he could think of was stuck in his throat, intimidated by her appearance. Heels clicked when she stepped to the side and pointed at him while nodding at the guards. Her nails were painted in a red similar to that of her mouth, long like claws. They looked like drops of blood on her fingertips.

As much as Wonho tried to stay positive, see the good in every normal human he met, he couldn't keep calm around her. The lady's eyes were far more intimidating than any gun or knife.

The two guards who had stood outside their room came in and dragged Wonho to his feet grabbing one arm each. He looked over his shoulder to glance at Jooheon but the woman's voice had his head snap back around. “Bring him to the lab.”

The fire mutant gasped on the ground, trying to catch a hold of Wonho's ankle but he was standing too far away. “N-no, don't-”

“It's fine, Joo”, Wonho interrupted him in a hurry trying to conceal his fear with a wobbly smile. “Remember what I told you.”

Then, he was led away, Jooheon left behind on the white floor in a white room without windows while the cold woman was right behind him, heels clicking relentlessly, drilling into his brain.

The lab, or whatever that chamber of torture and fear he was brought to was, didn't feature much more color than their cell. Another dentist chair – apparently a sort of medical chair – more white walls, another uncomfortable gray plastic chair. Though there were more machines in this one. And they were turned on, wires lying around as if they were only waiting for him to be attached to them.

_Keep the strength of mind._

The guards strapped him to the medical chair and two more men in white coats entered to get to work with attaching things to his head and piercing needles through his sensitive skin. 

The uniformed men left, only three people left in the room with him as he tried to move a little only to feel searing pain and gave up right away. He lost track of the amount of needles in his skin and tried not to focus on the pain or the weird feeling of foreign liquids entering his veins but it was hard. Yet he couldn't fight them. He was too weak to even walk properly.

“Alright, mutant”, the emotionless woman started picking up a clipboard and a pen. “We'll examine and identify you and then I'll ask you some questions. You will answer like the good thing you are.” The machines started beeping and Wonho felt his conscious slip from his grasp but not enough to render him unconscious. It was an uncomfortable state between painful reality and the bliss of a blackout.

“What if I...if I don't?”, he slurred while fighting against the chemicals they were pumping into him.

“Don't worry your little head”, she replied, smiling without it reaching her eyes. She looked like a demon. A demon on heels. “The mutant always talks.”

Wonho couldn't help letting out a groan incapable of forming words when the researchers set to work.

Wonderful. This would be _so_ fun.

 


	8. Mutants don't object therapy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wonho has to undergo therapy. A lot of therapy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one qualifies as a semi-filler, I guess, but it took me so long to write this and you guys deserved an update.  
> Christmas is just around the corner, I hope I'll be able to update before that but idk for sure!  
> Next chapter introduces quite some characters, get ready!  
> I hope you enjoy this one as well~

 

“You are Lee Hoseok, electricity mutant. Twenty-five. Ran from the assigned facility a month ago.”

He didn't know how long they had been doing this, only semi-conscious and barely hanging on. But he knew that he was not Lee Hoseok.

He was Wonho. Yeha had said his name was Wonho and that had to be the truth. It was hard to form the words for what felt like the hundredth time and he pinned his gaze to the cold eyes of the woman in heels. She had to be a demon with the way she kept digging for information while simultaneously trying to make him confess that he was Lee Hoseok for some reason. He really didn't know why his name would be wrong in the database.

“I am Wonho. I made that clear.”

“Lee Hoseok, why did you break into this facility while _knowing_ it would put you in danger? You are a deviant. Deviants don't come back without a good reason.”

“I am Wonho. And I am here because I wanted to see just how badly you treat us.” He had decided not to tell her about him being Jooheon's friend, at least not mentioning it directly. There was a risk that he would endanger him by doing so, he wasn't going to let that happen. If they wanted to put him through this torture, fine. But they had to leave Jooheon out of it.

If there was one thing he had found out by doing this it would be- “You spent your life in the main facility, you should know how we deal with creatures like you.” -that. If this was true, Yeha would have to be there as well. The main facility. And he knew he had to get out of this one to get to him. “Mutants are not allowed outside their designated building, Lee Hoseok”, the woman repeated herself yet again. “You should never have left the safety of your guarded home.”

“I said I don't have a home.”

“You do. And it's the main facility. Your home is your very own friendly little room, all cozy and still ready for you to return to.”

“Returning to being a prisoner. I just don't see the benefits I get from that.”

“We would keep you safe. And wouldn't have to kill you.” Her last words would have sent a shiver down his spine if he hadn't been so weak. By that time he was sure they were drugging him with something that was supposed to loosen his tongue and fill his head with cotton candy. Listening to his own voice almost felt like an out-of-body experience.

“Prisoner versus getting killed? Same difference, don't you think?”

He was holding on to the things he knew about facilities and _friendly and cozy_ wouldn't necessarily be adjectives he would attribute to them. Her promises were nothing but lies, tongue sharp as a blade smoothing over the edges with honey-coated words.

“You won't even get to choose if you keep this up.” There was no additional energy he could use to fight the woman, no electricity, no fizzing. He had tried to concentrate on the machines and their own power but he couldn't make anything from it. All he could do was try and stay awake.

It felt like he had entirely lost his powers. It felt like he had ceased to be himself.

It felt horrible.

“What do I need to do to make this stop?”, he asked weakly, sensing his wall of defenses crumble slowly but with certainty. The woman smiled and wrote something down on the clipboard.

“You are Lee Hoseok, electricity mutant. Twenty-five. Ran from the assigned facility a month ago.”

_Not that again._ They kept spinning in circles, had done so for more than an hour. Or maybe it was just minutes. Or days? He wouldn't know, too busy staying awake.

What was there to lose anyway? Why was he fighting this name so much? He panted slightly when his consciousness almost slipped from his grasp again but he held on to it. Had to cling to it with everything he had.

“Lee Hoseok, do you copy?”

“Will you let me go if I say yes?”

She let her nails scratch over the paper, an unpleasant sound, much more so paired with her ice cold gaze. “Answer the question.”

He gave up. So what if he wasn't Wonho here anymore? Maybe it was better to comply? _Only one way to find out._

“I'll be Lee Hoseok or whoever if that means I can go.”

The woman raised her hand and the two researchers who had stayed in the room with them the entire time moved to detach him from the machines, beeping fading gradually, no longer drilling into his mind. He had done something right, he could conclude that at least. _Depends on whether pleasing that woman is good or more than bad._ A matter of perspective.

Needles were removed from his arms and he took a deep breath while everything got blurry and darker. Darker and darker, trying to pull him into the abyss. Would have been great if he'd been granted that.

“Lee Hoseok?” Maybe the Devil was already with him though. Maybe he was in hell. “Lee Hoseok.”

He forced his eyes open again and looked at the woman, raising his brows as if waiting for her question only to see her smirk again. Vicious. Poisonous. Devilish.

“Good. Bring him back to his cell.”

He didn't know what was good about the fact that he had opened his eyes. But he never thought it would be this relieving to be escorted to a cell.

Jooheon was crouching behind the medical chair when he caught a glimpse of him. He had blacked out several times on the short way back to the cell and he didn't know whether he had been unconscious when they threw him back inside. But Jooheon had surely waited for the guards to retreat until he finally thought it safe to crawl out.

“Are you alright? The hell did they do to you?”, he hissed with worry in his eyes as he examined all the little puncture wounds by his elbow.

“I'm tired. I'm tired...Yeha.”

“You- I'm not- Whatever, okay. Just rest”, he replied softly and Wonho wouldn't let him order that twice, eyes already falling shut on their own. He could feel hands carefully stroking over the sensitive skin, caressing it soothingly and stroking the hair away from his forehead. For a moment, it felt like somebody cared.

Then it was only him and the abyss.

The dark, indifferent abyss where it was fine not to have a name.

 

He didn't feel like waking up. It would have been nice to stay in the infinite darkness forever but, like it happened rather often, life had something else prepared for him.

“Wake him up.”

“What did you do to him before?”

“Wake him up or you're coming with us instead.”

He forced himself to work, open his eyes, make a sound. He didn't like the choice between him waking up or his friend being taken from him. His gaze fell on Jooheon who was crouching right beside him, eyes narrowed and jaw clenched to the point of being painful. The other voice had been cold and female, he didn't have to guess or even look to know who it was. That woman, _that witch_ had returned. His skin prickled from the mere memory of the needles but he wouldn't let her take Jooheon. Something in him was completely against the idea, it was enough if only one had to deal with her.

“Awake”, he croaked, wondering how long he had been out in the first place. He still felt like a piece of trash, it couldn't have been for long and he was hungry. When was the last time he had eaten?

“Good. Hoseok, if you'd follow me-”

“What about food?”, Jooheon interjected, hands aiding him with sitting up at least. “He hasn't eaten in hours.”

“Neither have you”, the woman retorted coldly. “And you won't until my lesson with Lee Hoseok is finished, so let him go and things will be fine sooner than you think.”

“You can't keep us from _eating_ , what kind of messed up-”

“No, Jooheon”, he interrupted him in a hurry, groaning as he forced himself to his knees and, finally, to his feet. “I'll get this over with. No use arguing.”

“Wonho, are you crazy? You're a living corpse-”

“What doesn't kill me, you know?” He took a few deep breaths, successfully blurring out the fierce tries to persuade him as he walked up to the woman with faltering steps. This was the best he could do. One of them going through this was enough.

Heels clicking in front of him. The heavy steps of boots behind him. His breath coming out in pants, blood rushing in his ears.

“You seem to be close with that young man. Jooheon, was it?”, the woman noted seemingly on the side but even if he had wanted to reply he wouldn't have been able to – left, right, breathe. Left, right, breathe. Stay focused. Stay awake.

They sat him down on the chair, linked him to the machines once more, started regulating the liquid they'd pump into him. He didn't even feel the needles, too concentrated on the woman as he tried to stare her down with clouded eyes. Needless to say it didn't work.

“Valium?”, a researcher asked without looking up from his screen but she said no.

“We'd lose him if he were to grow any weaker at this point. Amphetamine.”

Whatever it was they were doing, not too long after the short exchange he felt a bit of life return to his body, reviving his brain and allowing him to concentrate on more than just the red of her lipstick and the relentlessness of her dark eyes.

“Feeling better, Hoseok?”

“I do.” Wasn't he Wonho? Why did he react in the first place?

“Good. We want you to feel good here with us.” That wasn't right. Didn't _sound_ right to him, at least. But for some reason he kept his mouth shut and just looked back at the witch as she took up the clipboard again. “Introduce yourself to the other researchers, would you?”

He frowned for several seconds, glancing at the two men in white coats and wetting his dry lips. “I am Wonho-” He broke off, recalling the previous encounter with the lady that formed goosebumps on his arms. He hated running in circles. So what if he had to comply for it to end quicker?

“I am L-lee Hoseok? Electricity m-mutant of twenty-five years.”

His eyes wandered from left to right, right to left before he glanced at the witch who was smiling warmly. Warmly? “Well done, Hoseok”, she said with a satisfied nod tapping her foot against the white tiles on the floor with a click every now and then. “Now tell me why you came here.”

“I...Didn't I tell you last time?” He couldn't properly recall his choice of words from the last time he had been awake, hoping his utterances would match.

“Tell me again. For the protocol.”

“I was curious? About the whole facility thing.”

The chemicals flowing through him like an energy generator kept him awake but they still caused his head to float on a sea of clouds. He couldn't properly control what he was saying and all he wanted to do was sink back into the dark abyss from before where nobody cared.

“You've been living in a facility your whole life, you know what life is like here, Hoseok.”

“I don't remember.”

Her pen stopped scratching over the paper as she eyed him with a frown of her own. “What do you mean you don't remember?”

“Just...that.” He tried not to let any unnecessary information slip past his lips but his mouth worked against his brain driving him mad. “I woke up and remembered nothing but my frie- I mean, it's all just blurry?”

“Who was your friend?”, she asked relentlessly, picking up on his hesitation without missing a beat.

“I don't know.”

“Another mutant from the main facility?”

“You think a guard or researcher would talk to me like a friend?”

“Did that friend help you out of the facility?”

“What, no, he didn't even support- No. No, he didn't”, he denied in a hurry, not knowing why he was talking so much. It had to be the liquid drug they shot into him, they made him careless and lightheaded. And now he was simply talking about Yeha?

The woman squinted for a good twenty seconds before exhaling deeply and nodding. “What about your friend, Jooheon? How do you know him?”

“We are not friends”, he pressed out before his brain could be shut off again.

“What are you then?”

“We met coincidentally?” It was a very vague utterance but as long as it contained a grain of truth he should be fine, right?

The woman let out a quiet chuckle without much of an explanation. “We caught him just a few hours before you appeared in our walls and you think I'd believe you when you say you came here to find out more about research facilities? You came to save a friend and most importantly-” She leaned forward on her chair with another of her devilish smirks. “-you didn't come alone.”

_Seokwon._ His eyes widened, just a fraction, just a brief moment, missed in the blink of an eye but she didn't blink. Sadly, she only smirked even wider. “I see I struck a nerve. You have many friends, Hoseok, and I'm sure there's more. Where are they hiding?”

_This was her goal all along._ _All along._ He licked over his lips again, nervousness squeezing his rib cage like a pair of claws. _I can't answer._ Everything he had done until then had been turned against him, it was not good to tell her anything. He had to shut up and think this through before giving out information.

“Hoseok? Hoseok, tell me more about your friends.” The heels clicked as she walked up to his side, staring down. Staring straight into the panic-filled void his eyes were. “Tell me where they are.”

He was cold, so cold he was shivering. Or was it the fear? He could not tell them about the others. It was the one thing he couldn't do.  _It's enough if one of us suffers._

“I...I don't know.”

“Liar.”  
“I don't know, I'm telling you, I don't know! They could be anywhere!”

“How many are there?”

Only the fact that he had to count the heads in his mind allowed him to think about the consequences and clench his teeth. Every information was to be held against him. Every move was one benefiting her, it was useless. He was losing his grip on the situation, control slipping away like a warm breeze in summer. He was trapped.

“Hoseok?”

“I'm not Hoseok, I-”

“If you start on that we'll have to hook you up to valium again, you know how that went before. And it doesn't go well with the rest that's in your blood right now, if I might add. It will be so painful that you'll try to rip it out but won't be able to.” Her voice was so bored, like she was watching a documentary about fish in the ocean. The fish could swim and swim, live their lives, flee from predators but she'd just yawn and switch the channel without further ado. Then, her eyes filled with warmth again as she leaned down, stroking his cheek with the back of her hand. His shivers intensified. “But I don't want you to suffer, Hoseok, dear. So be a good boy and give me the information I need so I can give you the food you want. And Jooheon as well.”

_Jooheon._ “Leave him out of that.”

“You want me to treat you two separately? Right, I remember the file. You didn't even help him when he was caught, you really aren't that close after all, am I right?”

“I'll be Hoseok. Just don't let him suffer because I'm stubborn. Nobody deserves that.” It was weird for her to change her mind all of a sudden but the content was what he had been looking for, agreeing without thinking twice. He should have.

“Alright. I'll call it a day for you, then. It was one exciting day after all, you must be exhausted.” Hoseok didn't think exhausted was anything close to the way he was feeling but he was thankful if that was what he felt at that moment. “Unplug the machines and bring him back to the cell. Clean the needles, I'll be back in fifteen minutes.”

“Yes ma'am.”

She left before he had the chance to follow her, guards entering to accompany him instead. “Dinner time, mutant”, one of them stated grabbing Hoseok's arm and dragging him along down the corridor while the second guard walked behind them like before.

“What will you do to me?”, he asked, finally managing to talk and walk simultaneously.

The guards remained silent for a long time until the one behind him mumbled a quiet: “You'll do as she tells you to and no harm is done.”

It was enough to have his hair stand on end again and he didn't dare asking them anything else until they rounded the corner to his cell, surprisingly running into Jooheon, equally restrained by a guard's strong hold. Having way more energy than Hoseok, he tried to break free several times but it was futile. “Jooheon, what are you doing here?”, he hissed with a glance at the witch behind his friend.

“Don't know, man but I'm glad you're alright. I'll take over.”

“No, you can't-” He turned to the witch trying to slow down the guard dragging him further down the corridor. “What are you doing to him, I told you to leave him out of this!”

“Stay calm, Hoseok. I just want to have a talk with him.”

“You told me-”

He didn't get to finish the sentence, already pushed into the cell and locked in a matter of seconds. He was out of the witch's reach but for what price? She had gone against her word within barely twenty minutes, how could she? Hoseok could only sit down and let out an angry yell. This time she had won but he had to make sure Jooheon would be safe from any more meetings with her. He had to give her information to ensure they'd be alright.

He had to choose between Jooheon, Yeha and his friends who were still out there. It was not a choice he liked to make but it kept him occupied for the next couple of minutes. Five. Ten. Twenty. The door opened and a tablet with food was pushed inside. Two bowls of rice, two bowls of soup, kimchi, water.

Hoseok had never been so happy to eat rice, though he couldn't help wishing for Kihyun's grilled meat as well. _Kihyun._ Another person he could spill information about. He ate alone in the now dimly lit room, restraining himself to only eat one bowl of rice and soup each. Jooheon would need food as well, wouldn't he? He doubted they'd get more once the other returned.

It took some time. Took a _really_ long time for Jooheon to come back. Hoseok soon ran out of things to think about, believing it was useless to dream of a break-out so soon. The most important issue was the one at hand: they were being tortured for information on things they didn't necessarily have any. Maybe they could make the witch believe lies but they'd have to be convincing and he didn't think he was able to do that on his own. Seokwon must have been a master of deception with all those things he had _borrowed_ without intention of returning them – how much he'd have given for a piece of advice then. What if he tried to tell the witch where other mutants were possibly living? He could point in any direction and she'd take the hint be it true or not, right? But if that hint was proven wrong shortly after...he didn't want to think about possible consequences.

The effect of the stimulant they had mixed into his blood before subsided slowly but surely, made his eyelids grow heavy and his brain slow. He tried to cling to reality when he heard steps near the room and they got louder and louder until the door opened. “Jooheon!”

The fire mutant was shoved into the room, staggered around for a while and then dropped to his knees as soon as the door fell shut. Hoseok scrambled to his feet to get to him, tried to support his body and help him with leaning against the wall where he had put the food.

But Jooheon swatted his hands away with a growl. “Spare me this stuff, will you?”

Hoseok blinked in surprise, tried to catch a glimpse of his friend's eyes but he just turned away dragging himself across the floor, away from him. Every time he reached out to help he was either shoved away or growled at. “Jooheon, are you alright?”

“Why would you care?” He was panting by then, giving up on reaching the wall and just lying down on the cold tiles.

“Why would I not?” A deep frown etched itself into Hoseok's forehead as he wondered why the other would suddenly be this rejecting.

“You tell me, Wonho. That sorry excuse of a therapist told me what you said, you can stop pretending.”

Wonho. Right, he wasn't Hoseok. He was only Hoseok when the witch talked to him, he shouldn't have thought of himself with that name. He was Wonho. He shuffled over to the tray of now cold food to grab it. “What did she say?”

“She said a lot of things”, Jooheon replied and curled up while suppressing a shiver. Was he cold? “You said you don't have anything to do with me. Said you would like it if you weren't associated with me.”

It had been something along the lines, yes, but only to make sure Jooheon would get food without having to depend on Wonho's sessions with the witch. Jooheon was missing the context. _A therapist. She's a therapist._ He could understand why Kyungmi had quit that job now. “Well, what I tell her could become a burden-”, he started but Jooheon let out a disbelieving laugh causing him to break off.

“A burden? Wonho, you literally told her you weren't connected to me in any way. Are you even here because you tried to get me out or was it just for you to understand how these shithole facilities work?”

“Jooheon, let me explain-”

“You'd better because I really don't know what's going on right now!”

He kept shivering and Wonho observed him for a short while before setting down the food in front of his friend. “I will but please, eat first. I'm afraid you'll pass out in mere seconds, just eat.”

“Eat? You...they gave you food?”

Wonho sat down and curled his arms around his knees. “Shortly after taking you. The soup is probably cold by now but eat it all, you need it.” Jooheon eyed the bowls for a couple more seconds, then glanced at him again with a pout.

“Can't believe you would've left something for me. Could have eaten it all and I wouldn't know.”

“Better believe it”, he deadpanned while resting his chin on his knees. “I'm not leaving you alone in this. What I said was what I deemed to be the better solution but I didn't know she'd take you instead of me then. I didn't _want_ you to be tortured or caught in the first place. All I told her was that I wanted you to get food independently of what I was telling her or not.”

His friend had gulped down half of the soup in one go and turned to the rice, only pausing shortly to look at him. “Independently...?”

“She said I had to earn our food but I tried to pull you out of the deal. Wasn't that successful seeing you here like this.” Wonho sighed deeply and closed his eyes while letting Jooheon eat in silence for a minute or two. “I just didn't want her to think she could blackmail me with you. I wouldn't hold out for long if she knew.”

“So what if she blackmails you? Don't let that influence you-”

“Contrary to what you're thinking I _do_ care about what happens to you and I wouldn't let her hurt any of my friends. It's like I said. It's my own burden to bear and I'll manage somehow. I just don't know how to make sure she doesn't take you to that room again and-”

“Wonho, listen.” Jooheon put the now empty bowl away and washed the rice down with the remaining soup. “If you'd told me beforehand I would at least have been ready for what was to come but I had to hear it from _her_ and therapists are snakes, I tell you. They twist words until you start to hate everything but them and their system, _I_ believed what she told me about you because I didn't know better. But I understand what you wanted to do. You did the best you could.”

“But you're being tortured, questioned, restrained again. I don't want that to happen to more people than necessary-”  
“Well and I won't let you suffer through this on your own. We're a team here, Wonho. And we should tell each other if we have a plan.”

Wonho stared at Jooheon in wonder. He had been accused of not caring mere minutes ago and now they were a team? He didn't mind. But it was still somewhat confusing to deal with the short temper of the other. “I don't really have a plan...but...Does that mean we're cool?”

“Sure.” Jooheon shrugged and leaned his back against the medical chair with a sigh. “And we'll keep doing what you started. They'll put both of us through therapy instead of just you and whenever we get back we talk about what the snake said. Easy concept.”

“No, I won't let her take you from here again-”

“This isn't some heroic children's story, we need to keep a clear head. We'll ground each other. Talking gets us through the mind games.” Wonho wondered why the other seemed to speak from experience but he didn't even have to ask, Jooheon smirking slightly upon seeing his expression. “It's the way Gun and I survived the weekly therapist visits at the factory.”

He just nodded in reply letting the apparent plan pass through his mind again. He didn't want to put Jooheon through this as well but he really couldn't think of any other way that would allow them to keep the information on the others outside to themselves. They'd have to stay strong, especially regarding their minds.

“Mind if I sleep?”, Jooheon interrupted his inner monologue, eyes almost falling shut on their own. “Don't know what they pumped through my veins but it sure as hell makes me sleepy.”

“I know, been there a couple hours ago. Rest up, I'll sleep a little as well.” They lay down next to each other, bodies touching here and there to share the least bit of warmth they gave off. “Jooheon? I'm sorry you're going through this.”

It remained quiet for a while and Wonho didn't expect to receive a reply but then a quiet mumble could be heard. “You should stop apologizing for stuff you're not to blame for.”

And then they fell quiet.

 

He was in the corridors of the facility. White floors, white walls, white, white lamps. His skin was pale, so pale it almost looked like you could see right through it if you concentrated just enough. Wonho took a few steps, listening to the echos the walls threw back at him.

He was alone.

It felt strange, this didn't seem like one of his memories. It didn't look like his usual dreams where Yeha would appear in some way like a subconscious reminder of whom he was looking for, no, there was nobody there at all. He halted at a corner glancing left and right to make sure there really were no guards around and he couldn't help wondering why his mind would take him here. Maybe it just tried to process that he was trapped, maybe he was reading too much into his memories of Yeha. Maybe it was all just in his head-

“You must be the leader.”

“What-” Wonho spun around with a start, falling into fighting stance in a hurry to be ready to fight. But it was just a girl. A petite girl of sixteen, maybe seventeen years with a long light-brown braid. Her clothes consisted of a knee-long pale blue dress, black leggings with boots and a dark brown leather jacket. The outfit combined cute with badass and it looked so...off. “Who are you?”

She smirked with her hands buried in her pockets. “Hannah. What should I call you?”

“Ho- Uhm...I'm...I'm Wonho”, he stammered while blinking wondering why his brain would generate the image of a girl he had no memory of whatsoever. There was no way he had met her before or was there?

Hannah smiled briefly before signaling him to follow her. “I'll show you your way out of this place, come with me.” She started walking away leaving him no chance to object. Neither did she turn to make sure he was still there so he just spoke up without waiting for a better opportunity.

“Look, even if you give me instructions now, I'm sitting in a cell with my friend, Jooheon. There's no way I can break free from the guards let alone get out of that room.”

“Just make sure to remember the way.”

He shut up to humor her – this was but a dream anyway – and decided to follow in silence, making sure he remembered the turns they took and the identical white floors they passed until they reached the big entrance hall him and Seokwon had been in when they had first entered the facility. It seemed like they had taken another route down this time but Wonho believed he could piece it together. Still...what use would that even be? And most importantly-

“Hannah, this is a dream, right?”

“It is.”

“Then why am I so conscious? And why would I dream of you helping me? How do I know you? This makes no sense, I don't understand why-”

“You ask way too many questions but I'll be nice because Chan told me to. I'm a mutant, just like you.”

Another mutant? Wonho blinked again, his vision blurring slightly at the edges. “So I've met you before? At a facility? At the shelter? Where-”

“You don't know me. But we'll set out soon. You're staying in the room we started out at, right?”

“Yeah, sure I am. What do you mean _set out_? And who is _we_?”

“You'll know soon enough. Can't have you spoil the whole plan to the therapist. Just know that we'll come for you.”

The vision blurred more and more making it almost impossible for him to see Hannah's face by then. “Do you know Hyungwon? Seokwon? Gunhee?”

“I can't remember names that well. And you should go back to proper sleep.”

“But...you said this is a dream. That means I _am_ sleeping.”

Wonho tried to sharpen his vision again but it didn't work, colors fading and lights dimming until he was surrounded by nothing but blackness and a few lighter blotches. Before he let himself fall he could hear Hannah's voice somewhere far, so far away.

“It's a dream. But then again, it isn't.”

 

His perceptions returned slowly. First the feeling of cold tiles below his fingertips, then the smell of medicine and finally his hearing. He was awake, right? This wasn't another dream. Wonho opened his eyes to be confronted with Jooheon's face, sleep softening his features and a smile playing around his lips. The expression changed, however, as soon as Wonho dared moving the slightest, the close noise making him stir and open his eyes as well.

“Wonho?”

“Sorry, didn't mean to wake you”, he replied right away, rubbing his eyes. “Where's Hannah?”

“Hannah? Who the hell is that supposed to be?”

Jooheon yawned but remained on the floor, seeming to have found a comfortable position while Wonho ran a hand through his hair glancing to the door. “I talked to her just now, she- she helped me out of here.”

“Great”, the other snorted closing his eyes again, “now you're hallucinating. Look, a dream is a dream. I dreamed of fried chicken but that doesn't mean there was some here, right?”

Wonho didn't know what to say to that. Sure, it had been a dream but then again... _Then again, it isn't._ It just felt too real to be ignored, he had been too conscious. It didn't feel like the vague dreams about Yeha or those he had had about ramyun or other food every now and then. No this was to be taken seriously, something told him so. “You're right but this one just...Whatever, I shouldn't think about it.”

“Damn right, you shouldn't.”

But he did. He thought about it so much, broke his brain with how hard he tried to interpret everything about the dream. They didn't talk much until the guards came in again to take Wonho with them. It was only then that Jooheon grabbed Wonho's wrist with a stern gaze. “Remember. We're a tag team. Go and come back.”

“You won't get rid of me this easily, firecracker”, Wonho smiled weakly before he was dragged out of the room, led down the corridor, strapped to that chair again. It was beginning to bore him if he was honest.

“Hoseok, welcome back. Looks like you slept, that's nice”, the witch purred upon entering the room with her clipboard in hand.

“I'd say thank you but that would be a lie and you don't want me to lie to you, right?” It felt like the hours of sleep had replenished his will to see this through and he was ready for another therapy session. He could do this. He even had Jooheon waiting back in the cell, they weren't alone in this. And maybe, just maybe, Hannah had spoken the truth. He couldn't tell what that'd mean to him but it felt somewhat reassuring. “What do you want from me?”

“Your sharp tongue allows me to get straight to the point. Honesty is nice and it's better if paired with information. Tell me what you know.”

“There's a lot of things I know. Don't know much about others. The sky is blue but I don't know why. Your lipstick is not exactly the same color as your shoes and it's unsettling. I don't know why you pretend to be kind. But I know I don't like it. That kind of information?”

He knew he was bold, challenging her to pick more drastic measures but it was a stalling technique. Maybe if they held out long enough something would happen. He was still wondering whether Hyungwon and the others were safe, what they were doing. And what the hell had Hannah's appearance been about? Who was she?

“You are thinking a lot”, the witch uttered with her eyes piercing his skull as if to decipher what was going on in there. She didn't spare his previous monologue of useless information any attention and glanced at the guy in the white coat on the side instead. “Valium for today.”

_That must be the drug that tired me out the other day._ He didn't like the idea of being drained of all energy but it was better than talking before he could overthink. He didn't want the stimulant in his blood ever again, it made him spill knowledge. Needles piercing his skin. Fire burning through his veins, then subsiding. Power being drained from him. The black frame around his vision returned but he wasn't as scared as before. They couldn't make use of him when he passed out, they'd make sure he stayed awake.

“Now tell me, Hoseok”, the therapist witch started with a sigh, “where are your friends? Jooheon wasn't of much...help yesterday.”

“He can't help with my friends. It was useless asking him.” It was better to keep the two of them separate in that matter, they were better off as lone wolves concerning these interrogations.

“I figured. So it's your turn again.”

“I had a friend before, at the main facility, I guess. But I don't really remember anything about him. That kind of friend?”

She seemed perplexed by his eagerness to reply but he had only chosen Yeha for a topic because he didn't know anything about him himself. He didn't even have enough information to find him, how would she? “Did he go rogue with you?”

“Don't think so. Neither do I know his face nor his powers, it's all just a vague memory.”

They went back and forth for a while. What was his voice like? How was he built? Had he helped him run away back then? Anything that could remind him of his power? How had they met?

Wonho didn't know. Nothing he knew to be true. She got tired of the topic rather soon and it was obvious that she didn't believe him. That she believed there was no Yeha and they had wasted half an hour on nothing.

“That friend aside”, she began after a longer pause, “who were you traveling with, Hoseok? Until you found back home to us?”

_As if this white hole would ever be my home._ Wonho had to force himself not to snort. His apparent name didn't evoke any reaction in him either, it felt so different from their talks before this one. He was so aware of everything, it was great. Still, he decided to answer her to get this session over with and return to his cell. It started to appear rather cozy in comparison to the therapy room.

“We were all four Won but one of us didn't move along, so we were three Won. I don't know if they were their chosen names or the ones listed in the data bank.”

“All for one, what-”

“Four. The number”, he corrected her with an impatient groan to appear annoyed by her inability to understand. “All of our names must have had some sort of 'Won' in them, so we came up with that name. Will never know their true names, seeing as I'm trapped here.”

It was another risky information but not too revealing either. Wonho was confident he could confuse her enough to get out, at least for the moment. It was over much faster than he had anticipated.

“You would be able to recognize their faces if you saw pictures of them, wouldn't you?”

“Maybe. But I'd be searching forever, 'Won' is not a rare syllable for names, needless to say I don't know if they are even part of their real names or just made up.” He shrugged, at least tried to with the leather and metal restraints of the chair hindering the movement. “For example, my name's Wonho but you keep calling me Hoseok.”

She cocked her ears with a frown. “I thought we had that one settled. You're Hoseok and that is the only truth concerning your name, darling.”

“Whatever suits you”, he mumbled barely suppressing a roll of his eyes so she wouldn't notice just how unwilling he was. Jooheon had talked to him, he knew he was Wonho. There was no point in following her ideas of who he was, he couldn't change himself. _Wouldn't_ change himself for a witch. Especially not knowing that _something_ was happening outside the facility. _Here's to hoping Hannah is actually real and not just some dream hallucination._

The therapist pursed her lips for a good twenty seconds just staring at him until she directed her gaze towards the researcher to his right. “Pull up all the names you can find with that. We'll do this the old fashioned way since we've got time.” Her slender hand knocked on the door to the corridor. “Bring Hoseok back to his room until further notice. One more shot though, we need him mushy and not rebellious.”

Wonho didn't even have time to object when another syringe was already slammed into the soft skin of his elbow. Probably more Valium; he noticed the effects within seconds and felt like passing out as he was released from the chair and led to the cell. His powers remained gone, no tingling, no energy, nothing. His gaze became clouded when he sat down next to Jooheon and it didn't take him long to close his eyes without the power to open them any time soon. “Jooheon, I said I traveled with two others”, he managed to mumble, consciousness slipping from his fingers yet again. “All the Wons of the group.”

“You didn't say anything about Gun?”, the voice of the other whispered and he shook his head, darkness surrounding him.

“Just so you know.”

“I'll make something up. You look like shit, is it Valium again?”

“Thanks, that's my handsome face.” A tired chuckle. “Valium. Mhm.” Even his tongue was heavy by then.

“Handsome face, my ass. Sleep until you're feeling better.”

Wonho didn't need him to say it twice.

 

There was no dream. Maybe his brain was too high on Valium to provide images but Wonho couldn't complain. At least there was no stressful hunting of memories. Or Hannah, whoever she was. He woke up on his own, not knowing how much time had passed since he fell asleep not to mention since when they were trapped in the white building. Was it just hours? Days? Had a week already passed? No, that would be ridiculous – they'd have tortured him more if it had been seven days.

The door opened, then closed and forced Wonho to open his eyes with his head throbbing like somebody had dumped a ton of bricks on it. He glanced up at Jooheon who was sitting in the frame of the closed door with his arms crossed in front of his chest. “Did they take you?” The words did not want to come out at first, throat hurting from nothing in particular.

“I just returned. Therapist was in a hurry to get me back here for some reason. Something's off, the guards seemed restless.”

“You think there's something going on that isn't protocol?”

“Pretty sure.”

A lot of rustling could be heard outside, cracking sounds, groans and shouts.

And then, a shot.

Jooheon stared at Wonho with wide eyes, both of them unable to believe that the guards would just shoot around in the facility for no reason. He tried to get up but the amount of Valium in his veins made it rather difficult to move in any way. “Can you look through the window? It's bulletproof for all I know.”

Jooheon nodded and rose to his feet but whispered that he was unable to see anything from the angle. The noises continued for some more before everything went silent with one last shot. Wonho's heart was pounding in his chest, adrenaline fighting the tranquilizer to get him to stand up. They were both taking agitated breaths when a male voice shouted something like orders somewhere down the hallway, easily heard through the door. Steps got closer and the voice rang in their ears again.

“Get away from the door, guys!”

Jooheon barely had enough time to roll away when another loud bang sounded through the room, the door falling out of its frame in what felt like slow motion to Wonho. The noises were deafening and he managed to sit up with a lot of effort but nothing more, so Jooheon crouched next to him baring his teeth and looking like an angry kitten.

Smoke poured in from the hallway and with it a well-built young man with one of the overalls like the guards outside had worn them. Wonho got reminded of how Seokwon and him had stolen the uniforms the other day and this one, too, didn't feel like a real guard to him. The stranger ran a hand through his platinum blonde hair and tugged a gun away with one practiced movement before locking eyes with Wonho.

“You're Wonho, right? And Jooheon?”

“Who wants to know?”, the latter hissed and clenched his fists but the man remained unimpressed.

“Definitely Jooheon, you fit the description. And you-” He glanced at Wonho once more. “Your hair is a dead giveaway, we'll have to change that.” He chuckled just long enough for Wonho to frown. “Wonder who is asking? Christopher. But many call me Bang Chan or just Chan is fine as well.”

Now that the door was open Wonho could hear the faint sound of a siren and shots ringing through the air somewhere far away. "Alright, Chan. What's going on? Where are the guards-"

"I was told you ask a lot but now's not the time. First-" Chan glanced into the corridor before smirking and signaling him to get up.

“Let's get out of here.”

 

 


	9. Mutants don't think of revolutions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bang Chan appears to be a help to our friends but Wonho can't help thinking there's more to the other man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, it took me so LONG!! But here I am in the new year (Happy New Year guys) with this new chapter!  
> Especially the last part might confuse you but I hope to illuminate it all throughout the rest of the story, don't worry ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)  
> Follow me on my art Twitter, if you want to @JesterFesta

Jooheon cocked his head to the side, staring back at Chan in uncertainty. “You're...You're breaking us out?”

“Well, what does it look like to you?”

There weren't many possible reasons for a complete stranger to burst into their cell while the facility's sirens were going off, so Wonho put a hand on Jooheon's arm. They had to believe him. “There might never be an opportunity like this again. It's not like we have many options.” He tried to get up but his head started spinning with every sudden movement and his legs were wobbly. Chan soon lost his patience with a groan and stepped closer. It was hard to follow what he was doing but next thing he knew was how he was thrown over a surprisingly muscular shoulder and carried out of the cell like some potato sack.

“Where are you going?”, Jooheon growled right behind them while Chan kept walking without stopping.

“To the parking lot. It's the meeting point.”

“Wait, you're really rescuing us?”

Wonho managed to glance up and make himself an image of the corridor's state. Guards were lying on the ground, some groaning, some not moving at all and he didn't know why but the thought that they could be dead made his stomach twist. There was something white and milky hanging in the air, probably the result of a smoke bomb.

“If me carrying your friend around doesn't make it obvious, let me tell you again: yes. Yes we're getting you out”, Chan replied dryly, stopping abruptly to turn his head to the left corridor. “Well, we'll need some diversion for these guys. Wonho, try to stand.” He was heaved off of the shoulder and his feet touched the ground, body leaning against the wall to take the weight from his shaky legs.

“Why are you-”

“I told you it's not the time to ask things.” Chan's face was just centimeters away when he stared at him. “Remember the path Hannah showed you and take Jooheon. I'll catch up later.”

“Hannah? You know-”

“ _Go_ for heaven's sake.” He whipped his gun out again and pointed it at something in the smokey corridor to the left while Wonho tried hard to breathe steadily. Jooheon's arm came around his waist to support him.

“Who the fuck is this guy?”

“I have no idea”, Wonho was left to reply while regaining his balance and taking a few unsure steps. _Remember the path Hannah showed you._ He glanced over at Chan who simply nodded before dashing off into the corridor and shooting into the smoke, bullets finding their targets, whatever they were. _We have to get out of here._ “But we should take this chance.”

“You're going to trust him?”

“We don't have much of a choice, this is the best we've got. We can still decide on our next step once we're out of this place, alright?”

“I sure hope you're right.”

He rested his weight more on Jooheon and took a deep breath while he could hear blood rushing in his ears. “Let's go.”

It was a slow progress but Wonho wasn't going to give up as long as they made any. Two times right. Follow the corridor. Take a left. It wasn't long before he started panting, muscles rebelling against every movement due to the sedative from the previous therapy. Steps hurried down the corridor behind them accompanied by more shots.

“Run, you idiots!”, Chan yelled only to have Jooheon shout back.

“He can't go faster, okay? We're doing our best- hey!” Again, Wonho was grabbed by his sweater, then the waist and finally heaved over the shoulder from before again.

“We don't have time for snails right now”, Chan mumbled with a pat on Wonho's calves before picking up speed and bridging the rest of the way until they reached the entrance hall he had seen with Seokwon and in his dream before. “Woojin, tell everybody to get out!”

Jooheon's steps faltered and Wonho glanced around but couldn't find anyone else who Chan could possibly have been talking to. “Who the hell is Woo-”

“Quiet!”, their unexpected rescuer interfered again while scanning the room to make sure there was no imminent danger, then moving outside. More steps on concrete, hurried and goal oriented, but Chan didn't seem to think them to be hostile and just kept walking. Several shots echoed from the walls enclosing the facility and its parking lot but Wonho didn't manage to observe the situation while dangling from the ever-moving shoulder. They reached a car, something like a big van the back doors of which were open and Chan put him down at the edge turning to Jooheon. “Get in there.”

As Wonho rolled over to look inside the load space he spotted several people, some curled up with their faces hidden and others staring right back at him. He scanned their faces without finding anyone he was familiar with until he could hear the sound of bullets hitting metal. Someone new jumped into the car and he glanced up with wide eyes only to receive a bright smile in return.

“Wonho! Holy shit, I'm so glad we found ya!”

“S-Seokwon?”

Jooheon scrambled to his feet and grabbed the other by his shoulder with a sigh of relief. “Seokwon, you're alright!”

“Better than good, actually”, the other said while pulling Wonho who still hadn't managed to get up deeper inside the trunk. “Ho, you look like shit.”

“It was enough having Jooheon tell me that, thanks”, he groaned but couldn't help smiling knowing that the other was alright. “How are we getting out of here?”

Another person joined them in the trunk and slammed the doors shut to escape the bullets. All Wonho could make out was a face with rather slim eyes and a wide nose as well as dark-brown hair before everything went dark and a voice sounded through the confined space. “Everyone's inside, floor it!”

The engine of the car flared up with a roar and Seokwon crouched down next to Wonho to keep his balance, Jooheon doing the same out of reflex. “What's going on, Seokwon?”

“We're getting y'all outta here with a blast”, was the casual reply in the dark as the car started moving backwards, then forward again. Wonho didn't know where they were going but with every passing second he knew that it was better than staying in the white cell and being exposed to the toxic therapist. And Seokwon was with them, so this had to be good.

A couple of minutes passed during which nobody said anything, everybody just catching their breaths from the intense situation at the facility. Then, the unknown voice from before sounded again.

“We're still shaking them off but we're out. We did it.”

Next to Wonho Seokwon sat and let out a sigh of relief. “To think that this worked.”

“Would have been a tragedy if it hadn't”, the other voice retorted. Wonho figured it had to belong to the last guy to join them before taking off. “We'll be home in half an hour if we manage to shake them.”

_Home_ . What an odd word to hear. Wonho turned his head towards Seokwon even though he knew he couldn't see much in the dark. “Explain. Please explain, Seokwon.”

“There's more like us, Ho. It's just like Kihyun said: lots of mutants hiding all over the place”, the other whispered warmly, smile almost audible in the way he spoke. “Not long after I got out of that shooting at the facility the other day Woojin and Felix found us in the cave and we explained everything and we were so devastated, so they told us they knew a place we could stay and-”

“Woah, hold up, who the fuck are you talking about? Woo...Woojin? And that other guy?”, Jooheon interrupted impatiently as the stranger's voice sounded again. The one with the dark-brown hair.

“I'm Woojin. We'll explain everything once you guys are alright again. You're fine, so chill and breathe calmly, yeah?”

Wonho listened in silence, tried to make sense of what he was being told while simultaneously feeling how the adrenaline subsided and left him unable to move as Valium appeared to last much longer. There was something he had to know though. “Hyungwon. How is Hyungwon? A-and Gunhee?”

“Worried about you guys, but other than that? Fine. We're all good. Bang Chan just thought it'd be better for them to stay out of the fightin' and stuff. ”

Everyone was good. They were alright and most likely well. And Jooheon and him were out of the facility. They were fine. A sigh of relief escaped Wonho's lips and he let go of some more tension.

The van bounced across the holey concrete or whatever they were driving on causing them to topple over with a couple of groans here and there. He found it increasingly harder to concentrate on the dark shapes around him and decided to close his eyes for a while.

Just a short while...

...until the rustling of the van stopped and Seokwon's voice got through to him.

“Wonho. Wonho wake up.” He groaned, pressing his eyes shut to cling to the peaceful sleep for just a little longer. Sadly, someone wasn't going to let him have his way and a palm struck his cheek with a smacking sound.

“The fuck you think you're doing?! Leave him alone, he was in therapy shortly before you guys came in”, Jooheon defended him right away followed by the sounds of someone being shoved.

“We don't have time for this, we need to get the van out of here”, Bang Chan's voice sounded through his ears. “Wake him up or carry him. We overstepped our boundaries today and if it was for some useless dormouse I won't be as nice anymore.”

Angry steps faded quickly and Wonho opened his eyes with a sigh drawing the attention of his two friends. “He's a handful.”

“He's moody, is all”, Seokwon replied before helping him sit and, finally, stand on his own two legs again. “Let's get you up and running again, buddy. Ya need proper food. Joo, just follow the others and-”

“I'm not leaving Wonho's side until I know he's fine”, Jooheon objected and crossed his arms only to be convinced by Seokwon with three simple words:

“Gun is waiting.”

Wonho had to smirk and mouthed a silent 'go' with a nod. He knew very well that Gunhee was the only thing able to defy the firecracker's bullhead and the only way to resolve all the tension of the previous days.

Jooheon swallowed hard and stared at him for a couple of seconds before nodding back and pressing his lips together. “I'll go and tell them you're here, take your time.”

It wasn't until he watched the red and brown hair disappear between the other people from the van that Wonho took in his surroundings that looked like some sort of cave. They were somewhere underground, lights and flames hanging on the walls, a varying combination of electricity and fire it seemed. He could not see a way up, there was nothing but a wall behind them and only one tunnel in front. “Where are we?”, he managed to utter with his voice still raspy as he leaned on Seokwon for support and they started moving forward. Step by step. Foot in front of foot.

“Somethin' like the container shelter.” The younger adjusted his hold on Wonho's arm and waist with a grunt. “Damn, you sure are heavy for your short built.”

“You're not really taller than me you ungrateful brat. And it's all muscle.”

“You begin to sound like Hyungwon save the fact that he is _actually_ taller than me. Unlike you.”

“Sharp tongue as ever.”

They chuckled for a few seconds before he turned serious again. “Who is Bang Chan?”

“Let's see...A mutant, like us? Deviant, obviously. And a damn good leader, better than Coups was back then, I tell ya.”

They were walking through the tunnel until an opening could be seen maybe fifty steps ahead. “Who is he leading?”

Seokwon hummed a soft tune that sounded vaguely familiar. Was it the song Kihyun had sung in the city back then? “Just more deviants.” Wonho disliked the expression _deviant_ just as much as _mutant_. He wished for them to be erased and replaced by something neutral. Something that did not imply them to be an abomination of humanity.

A silhouette appeared at the opening, distance posing a problem with making out the face at first but the person, a man, approached quickly and his panting reached Wonho's ears just before he was engulfed in a tight hug of two lanky arms. “Oh god, you're back. It's really you!”

It took all of Wonho's resources to keep his balance but he soon recognized the slim shoulders and tiny waist, the silver hair, the voice. _Hyungwon._ He slung his own arms around the tall figure with a relieved sigh, smiling against the fabric of the other's shirt. “I'm so glad you're fine.”

“Same here.” Hyungwon distanced himself for a moment to inspect his face and Wonho watched as the corners of his mouth turned down. “Not being rude here but Wonho, you look-”

“-like shit? Yeah, I've heard that before”, he interrupted the other with a roll of his eyes and leaned into the loose hug again breathing in the somewhat calming scent of Hyungwon. “Past days were a bit stressful.”

“A _bit_ ”, the other grimaced squeezing his torso once more before letting go carefully. “Seokwon, you can go ahead, I got this.”

“You sure? He's not that light, ya know?”

Wonho's protest was broken off by Hyungwon's chuckle and a dismissive gesture. “Pretty sure. Good work today, get a good night's rest.”

“Won't ask twice, he's your pest now. Night!”

Their youngest left them with another wave and Hyungwon took over the supporting role until they reached the opening. It seemed the tunnel had brought them to an underground warehouse, metal bars and planes all around the walls to make sure everything stayed in place. It reminded him of the container-fortress just like Seokwon had told him.“It's good to have you back, Wonho.”

“It's nice being back, too”, he replied exchanging a warm smile with his friend and they walked up to Bang Chan whose stature he could make out by a group of people. There weren't that many, about ten, a maximum of fifteen. “I guess sleeping isn't up next, huh?”

Hyungwon sighed with a shake of his head. “Sadly, no. We'll get this quick update over with and leave for the quarters in a minute, alright?” He finally spotted Jooheon and Gunhee who joined them with relief written all over their faces. It was good to be together again.

“Alright, ladies and gents, the mission was a success”, Bang Chan announced smiling broadly and the other people cheered. “Not only did we recover the two mutants which was our main plan but we also managed to get our hands on some more data like updated profiles and the plans they are making to expand certain research facilities. It's intel we can be more than happy to have!”

Wonho leaned closer to Hyungwon's ear lowering his voice. “They are all mutants, right?”

“This isn't even half of them”, the other whispered back with a smile. “But yeah, it's like the container-fortress here; just underground.”

“Seokwon mentioned something along the lines”, he confirmed with a nod when he noticed how many eyes were on him. They were looking and glancing over every now and then like he was not real, like they couldn't believe they had actually gotten him out. “They're staring.”

“Would be a surprise if they didn't, let me tell you that”, Hyungwon snorted when Bang Chan signaled everyone to disperse.

“I know you're all worn out. Get some rest and we'll discuss the next steps in plenum tomorrow before lunch when everybody can think straight again. I'm proud of you all, we're a great team. Dismissed!” Bang Chan glanced at Wonho for a couple of seconds as the group of staring people moved out of the big hall. “Holding up, I see?”

“Head is buzzing and legs are weak but a full night's sleep will do the deed”, he replied with a cautious smile. “I hear you're the leader here? I should have known but I was busy trying not to pass out.”

“We all have our flaws”, the other laughed in reply taking in how Wonho was surrounded by Hyungwon, Jooheon and Gunhee who looked like a protection squad. “I sure hope you're not that helpless once you're healthy again. But I guess that's what three days in those hellholes do to you.”

_Three days._ It had been three whole days? Jooheon and him exchanged a glance, shock evident on their faces. “We only had one meal in three days?”

“Damn, then you'd better get yourself something to chew on before hitting the pillow.” Bang Chan looked at Hyungwon and Gunhee. “You know where the kitchen is, right?” They nodded quickly and he did the same, reassuring smile in place as he patted Wonho's shoulder. “We'll get you back to the living again and when you wake up tomorrow I'll explain what is going on here. You had a lot of questions earlier, right?”

“A lot would be an understatement”, he joked in reply before bidding Bang Chan a good night and leaving for the direction Hyungwon pointed in. Gunhee caught up to give him a light punch to the shoulder, welcoming him back.

“I'm glad you two aren't missing anything.”

“We wouldn't let them take anything”, Jooheon grinned but something that felt heavy like a stone settled in Wonho's stomach at the words. They had taken his name, even if just for a short while. He had been weak. Had given in easily, oh so easily. He stumbled over his own two feet but Hyungwon tightened his hold on him to keep him stable.

“I got you. Are you okay?”, he asked, voice laced with worry and brows furrowed.

“Yeah. Yeah, just tired.”

“I see. Gunhee, why don't you take Jooheon and get him something to eat? I'll take care of Wonho, I just don't think he'll make it to the kitchen himself.”

The light mutant stayed silent for a few seconds, then nodded and grabbed Jooheon's arm to lead him away. “Sleep tight Wonho!”

“Won't have to tell me twice”, he chuckled in reply as they entered the first corridor of the quarters as Hyungwon explained.

“The spare rooms are in the far back, I'll just bring you to my room, yeah? It's the fifth door to the right over there.” A young boy passed them before they could make it there. He had to be a couple of years younger than Seokwon and Hyungwon called out to him. “Felix? Uhm...could you bring something simple to eat to my room? I'm afraid of leaving him alone.”

“S-sure, be right over.” The other's voice was much deeper than expected and he left in a hurry with a last unsure glance at Wonho.

It wasn't long until they reached Hyungwon's room then – small and functional with nothing but a bed and wardrobe inside. “Get rid of that shit uniform and sit down, you're as pale as a ghost.”

Wonho chuckled at that, soft and weak because that's all he could muster up at that moment. “I feel like one.” He opened the zipper of the overall he had been wearing all this time and remained in his sweater and pants he had worn underneath before they had started their failed attack on the facility. It felt gross but it would make do for a night or two.

Hyungwon placed him on the bed with careful hands. “On a scale of one to ten, ten being _asleep any second_ , how tired are you?”

“Honestly? Twelve. _Almost dead_.”

“If you can joke around then you're alright, I guess”, Hyungwon snorted with a roll of his eyes but grinning nonetheless until steps sounded through the corridor outside. It was the boy from before, Felix, who entered the room with a bowl of soup and some rice with kimchi. He eyed Wonho for another few seconds, then looked at Hyungwon in curiosity. “Is that really _him_?”

“He may not look like it but yeah, he's alive and he'll be fine in no time. Thanks for the food, you're a big help.” Felix' eyes kept moving from Hyungwon to Wonho and back again, awe spreading on his face. The taller male cocked his head to the side with a frown. “That...would be everything for now. He'll have to rest.”

“Oh! Yeah, sure! See you tomorrow. Rest up well!” He was quick to close the door leaving the two of them alone only to have Hyungwon sigh.

“That boy sure is...excited?”, Wonho noted quietly only to receive another snort.

“He's a _fan_ of yours, believe it or not.”

“I have...fans?” He blinked in confusion as Hyungwon placed the food on a small table by the bed so he could reach it himself.

“Beats me, just look at your pale and sickly face, but you will probably see it for yourself tomorrow. Now eat up to show them your best side when you wake up.” Wonho really didn't like being kept in the dark, especially not by his closest friend, but hunger was stronger than common sense and his eyes were fixed on the food in no time.

As Hyungwon didn't say anything else he ate in silence for a while, savoring the warmth of the soup and the spiciness of the kimchi. It felt like coming back to life after a long slumber. It was ridiculous but he was actually fighting tears that began to form in his eyes at the heavenly taste of such simple food. All was gone too soon but his stomach was satisfied nonetheless and he sighed in relief putting the bowls down. “Three days without proper food.” He glanced up at Hyungwon licking over his lips to taste the remains of the spices and seasoning just a little longer.

The healer still looked at him with worry and something close to pain on his face. “Three whole days.” He reached out with his slim hand and pushed a few strands of bright red hair out of Wonho's eyes, cool fingertips on warm skin. It made him sleepy and they shifted to lean their backs against the wall, feet dangling from the bed. “What else did they put you through?”

“Therapy”, he replied surprisingly calm as he knocked his head against the wall as well only to have Hyungwon guide it to his shoulder instead. It was warm and soft, much unlike the cold white floor of the facility. He felt like no amount of sleep would ever be enough to cure him entirely. “Lots of shots and fluids to loosen my tongue. They had my name from the data bank. Hoseok. But I insisted on Wonho.”

“So they know who it is they're searching...We have to be extra careful from now on.” As if they hadn't been before but Wonho had literally run straight into a facility to save Jooheon – not a very careful move, so he wasn't one to object. “I'm so sorry I wasn't there to help you.”

“I'm glad you weren't.” Hyungwon's body tensed up at his words and Wonho was quick to explain, eyes falling shut on their own again. “Was hard enough seeing Jooheon undergo the same stuff. I didn't want anyone else to have to be in our situation.” His voice was slipping from him, slurring and connecting the words without him being able to control it. “I'll sleep, Won.”

“Do that”, the other whispered back shifting to make him lie on the bed and covering him with the thick blanket. Warm and soft. So soft. “I'll come check on you as soon as I wake up?”

Wonho pushed himself to the edge of the bed and patted the free space by his side, already half asleep. “Just stay. 's easier.”

A few moments of silence followed and Wonho couldn't tell whether Hyungwon had left or not until the blanket was lifted. More warmth surrounded him as the other curled up by his side, fingers digging into the front of his dirty clothes and cold feet pushing against his. “You stink, you know?”

A low chuckle was all Wonho could muster up before sleep took over and the last thing he remembered was the comfort of a warm and soft bed.

 

Wonho couldn't tell when he had last woken up on his own but when he did, he felt like a completely different person from the day before. He felt...alive. Like the sleep had purified his body from all the chemicals they had pumped into him back at the facility. He was fully Wonho again.

The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was the face of Hyungwon, calm, peaceful, sleeping and it had him relax as well. He was alright. He was safe. Everybody was.

But for how long?

Hyungwon had been right, they knew who to look for now and it was only a matter of time until his face popped up in all the newspapers, all the TV programs and maybe even on pamphlets. He was their only lead on the location of the other deviant mutants and he knew they wouldn't let him off the hook easily.

His breath hitched at the thought, body tensing up for just a split second – long enough for Hyungwon to frown in his sleep and finally finding back to reality, staring back at Wonho from sleepy eyes. “How are you?” He snuggled further into the blanket with a heartfelt yawn which made him look so small, different from his actual stature. Like a baby, helpless and easy to please with food and sleep.

“Feeling a lot better”, Wonho mumbled in reply, smiling weakly as he wriggled out from under the blanket to get up with a deep sigh. “But I've just been thinking...” He yawned as well, affected by Hyungwon, before turning away and closing his eyes again.

“We should go separate ways.”

“What?” The other jolted awake at that, sitting up and almost knocking over the empty bowls from the day before with a hiss for all Wonho could tell by the sounds. “What do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean, Hyungwon. You were right, they know that they have to look for me and it puts every single one of you in danger. I can't stay here-”

“We don't need that heroism right now and you know that as well. They know you were with Jooheon, no matter what you tried to make them believe.”

“Then he'll come with me-”

“You don't understand!” Hyungwon must have stood up because he was standing right in front of Wonho when he decided to risk a glance at his expression. The healer looked hurt and angry, lower lip trembling a little in frustration when he continued quietly. “Don't understand a thing. It won't work like that. And we didn't break you out only to lose you again-”

“Then what am I supposed to do? You're in danger and it's my idiotic self that brought us into this situation! It's all my fault.”

“So what if it is?” His hands were enclosed by Hyungwon's long fingers, eyes set on the other's face. The determination was...fascinating. “It's your fault but it's not over yet or is it? You're still here, we're all fine and that means we still have each other. You're not in this alone and we'll be safe for now.”

Wonho pressed his lips together and lowered his gaze. “Can you be sure of that? Who _exactly_ is that Bang Chan anyway?”

“We didn't have time to explain yesterday but we'll work on that. For now you just need to trust my words, okay? You told me to trust you every time you did something stupidly reckless and now it's time to return the favor. Just this once.”

Silence surrounded them for a couple of painfully long seconds until Wonho gave in. His decisions hadn't been the best so far, maybe it would be good to let somebody else decide for a change. He nodded, seeing relief light up Hyungwon's eyes. “Alright. I'll believe you. But you need to tell me everything you know about Chan.”

The healer nodded with a smile. “Sure, I'll explain-”

“I'll do that myself, if you will?”

The two of them jerked at the sudden voice coming from the corridor and Wonho pushed Hyungwon behind him by reflex just before the door opened to reveal the leader himself. Bang Chan. “I don't appreciate eavesdroppers”, Wonho stated only to fight the tension in his body a second later. “But you saved me, so...go ahead.”

Chan raised his brow at him with a snort, both of them knowing that Wonho didn't have as much of a choice as he pretended to. “Let's go to the discussion room, I'll have another of my men over and then we can explain. Hyungwon, why don't you get our dear Wonho breakfast?”

“I'm not leaving his side.” He was glad Hyungwon objected without hesitation but Chan was not impressed.

“Then he would starve with you by his side, great. Seriously, get yourself and him breakfast, then come to the discussion room as well. The faster you are, the faster you're back if being separated is your concern. He won't be harmed here, how often do I have to assure you?”

“As often as it takes.” Hyungwon chewed on his lower lip for a few seconds, then sighed and let his fingers stroke over Wonho's arm. “I'll hurry.”

Chan waited for him to leave the room, then made an extensive gesture towards the corridor as well. “Shall we, then?”

Wonho complied – how could he not have? – following the other's lead and passing several faces he had never seen before. It felt foreign, especially when he noticed their curious glances and agitated whispers following him like the rustle of a strong wind in the woods. They reached the bigger hall he had seen the evening before, lack of Valium making it easier for him to examine every detail with a squint.

“It's all ruins upstairs”, Bang Chan explained before he could even ask. “But the basement is more than enough for us. At least for now, we might have to expand if we keep growing at this rate.” He hummed a little tune to himself, again vaguely familiar to Wonho but he didn't have time to question the other about it. “Hyungwon and Seokwon told me you guys are from a sort of shelter further in the east. You could say this is another of these shelters, taking mutants in and making sure they stay alive, well, most of the time.”

“Another shelter”, Wonho mumbled to himself with his mouth twisting downward. “So you're going to sit back and tell us to not cause an uproar, just like Seungcheol back then?”

“We may hide here but you do in fact know that we don't just _sit back_ or otherwise you wouldn't be out and free of needles in your arm”, Chan snapped, suddenly annoyed with his accusations when they stopped in front of a spacious room with glass windows to the main hall. A long table was set up inside but there was only one other person sitting at one end, the face looking familiar to Wonho from the day before. “That's Woojin, my second in command, basically.”

_Right. Woojin._ The last one to join them in the van before setting out. “I guess my first impression wasn't very...good”, Wonho muttered with a shrug, glad that a humane amount of sleep had cured him of his helplessness. “I'm Wonho.”

“I sure do know you”, Woojin replied with a quiet chuckle, standing up for them to shake hands. His grip was firm despite his kind and soft facial features and he looked him up and down, examining everything about him. “You need a new hair color.”

“Right?”, Bang Chan agreed casually high-fiving the other. “I thought of something blueish?”

“Complete opposite? No way, blue is too rare. Simple black?”

“Might be boring after a while though-”

“Okay wait”, Wonho interrupted the sudden excitement of the two he had thought to be rather serious before. “Could we maybe start with explaining the situation first? And what's wrong with my hair?”

“It's a dead giveaway”, Woojin shrugged with another smile. “But sure, sit down, sorry.”

He did as he was told and they settled around the table, Bang Chan at the head end and Woojin and Wonho to his left and right. “What do you want to know?”

It was an easy question that didn't require Wonho to overthink his answers.  _Of course. They are not the therapist, get over it._ “Why did you get us out of that place? We don't even know you.” He could see Hyungwon through the window to the great hall and relaxed at the sight of the anticipated breakfast in his hands.

The other two followed his gaze, Bang Chan raising a brow at him. “We found your friends. Or rather, Felix and Woojin found them and brought them to us. They were completely out of their minds, panicking and all.”

_Right, Seokwon mentioned something along the lines...wasn't Felix the guy who brought the food yesterday?_ Wonho rested his face in on his palm and hummed. “Yeah, Seokwon and I tried to infiltrate the facility to save Jooheon but we all know how that went. I'm just glad Seokwon made it out despite the trouble...” He glanced at Woojin. “What were...What were you guys doing there anyway?”

“We've been checking out the facility for months to get as much information about it as possible. You guys just happened to be there when we were out scouting.”

The door opened and Hyungwon placed the food in front of him with a reassuring smile before sitting down himself. The scent was intoxicating, actual fried eggs on the plate, Wonho couldn't believe it and took a spoonful without hesitation. Bang Chan glanced at Woojin in amusement before continuing: “However, your dear friend here”, he pointed at Hyungwon, “told us about your plan and all. It was pure madness to go in with only two people, just for the record.”

“I figured”, Wonho noted with a roll of his eyes and continued eating.

“To put it simple, we thought you were just some idiots. Mutants who are so traumatized they'd jump right back into the facilities thinking they could take revenge. But when Gunhee told us of Jooheon and the factory and all...we finally knew just who you are.”

Wonho stopped his spoon in midair, frowning at Chan. “Who I am? What do you mean, _who I am_? I'm Wonho, full stop.”

Woojin mirrored his expression before suddenly coming to a conclusion, snapping his fingers once. “You don't know you're making headlines, do you?”

“Headlines?” He looked at Hyungwon for help but the other only smiled a little, shrugging. “What does he mean?”

“Remember how I told you you have fans yesterday? How do you think they'd know you if not through the media? They keep expanding their reports, you're drawing attention.”

“It started with the factory the other day”, Bang Chan clarified, a somewhat proud smile tugging at his lips. “They didn't know much about you at first with the cameras damaged and all that but they knew your appearance from witnesses' statements.”

He forward to make sure Wonho focused on him. “They tried to warn people. They mentioned the factory raid, only briefly at first, then in relation with just how many mutants had escaped. Then they said you had been sighted near Yeoju. You were out there and just running from the authorities like it was child's play!”

It was strange to see the man who had been pretty serious until minutes ago in a state of absolute excitement. Wonho finished his breakfast and put down the spoon. “I had a lot of luck and my fair share of help.”

“I know, Kihyun let Hyunjin contact us about it only two days ago.”

“Uh...you know them?” At this point, Wonho was starting to get lost in the story Bang Chan was telling.

“A mutant like Hyunjin does not simply get out of a facility without us noticing. Kihyun....we met that one coincidentally but he's a good guy, so we knew we could trust him when he told us about you guys meeting him. Hyungwon confirmed the news as well.”

Woojin nodded and continued the short summary. “And then the mess at the facility happened and knowing it was all connected to you we just thought...wow, there's really somebody out there actually _doing things_ to get mutants out of their misery. The more you did the more we started to respect you, Wonho. And we didn't even know you.”

“It was just minor stuff, why would that impress you to the extent that you'd get me out of a facility? I was done for.”

“Very honest?”, Bang Chan let out a quiet chuckle. “We want you to be a role model for all the other mutants out there. You're standing up for us and you're succeeding, well, for the most part. You're the hope many didn't have and if we just push this a little further...you could be the face of a revolution.”

“Me?” He couldn't believe what he was hearing. For all he knew there were about sixty mutants he knew to be free, some hiding in the containers with Seungcheol, others with Bang Chan. He had done the bare minimum of what he thought was just and right on his journey to get back to Yeha but being a role model? This was more than an exaggeration.

Or wasn't it? He reminded himself of Felix and the look in his eyes when he had seen him the day before. It couldn't just be Bang Chan's delusion but even if what he said was true, how would they start a revolution with numbers this small? No, it just didn't make any sense.

“It's madness”, he finally said into the silent room shaking his head. “I'm not cut out for this. Every decision I made entailed some sort of problem resolved by luck. You said that my two-people facility intrusion was idiotic but a revolution isn't?” He got up so fast his chair fell over. “Why didn't you take over the facility if you think it's possible?”

“I'm not saying we're jumping into this, hear me out”, the other tried to calm him down while rising to his feet as well. “We'll convince all the mutants hiding out there to join us. We're more than you might think if we all work together and just imagine: If it was just three of you when you freed all those mutants from a smaller factory, what could a hundred, maybe even one thousand do? We're no normal human beings, Wonho, we don't need to be the majority. If they didn't fear us they wouldn't lock us up for no one else to see. We may not be an army yet but we can still have a say in our destiny, isn't that what made you act in the first place? The will to change something?”

A long silence followed during which Wonho just stared at Bang Chan whose eyes were full of hope, full of eagerness and determination.

And he was right. Partly at least.

He had wanted to make the world a better place for mutants, starting on the small scale of a factory. Bang Chan was mapping out exactly what he had dreamed of when he decided to leave the container shelter, showed him the very determination he had been looking for all this time but now...suddenly it felt like the task was too big for him to handle.

“I can't lead you guys. I won't use fellow...” He hesitated to say the word himself, still not liking the notion. “Won't use fellow _mutants_ for my goals, it would make me no different from non-gifted humans. Everybody is just doing what they think is best for everybody but we don't know where this ends.”

“You won't have to use us, Wonho. We could follow you on our own without you having to order us around or anything”, Woojin chimed in, visibly convinced that this was all they needed. _A hero to look up to._ “Just exist and do as you did before.” _A hero to lead the way._ “We'll back you up when you need us-”

“I'm not the person you're looking for and that's all I'm going to say about that matter”, he growled before pushing the door to the main hall open and leaving the room with determined steps. Hyungwon called after him but he didn't want to think about it then, his only goal being to get as far away from Bang Chan and Woojin as he possibly could in this place he knew nothing of.

Making a change was all good and nice but not the reason at the very bottom of his heart. All he had really wanted to do was find Yeha and allow him a life without shackles. The sacrifices, the path leading to his goal, the complications, he didn't want to hear any of that. Maybe he was not meant to find Yeha after all.

He was not their man.

He could not be that person to lead them into a large scale battle with every non-mutant standing in their way.

He just couldn't bear the weight of that responsibility.

In the end, he was just Wonho.

No more. No less.

 

 

༻x༺

 

It was on his way back from treating yet another deviant when he heard the agitated voice of a Sergeant he had seen quite often. He had visited whenever something happened concerning the Yeoju deviants but ever since two of them had been caught he hadn't heard of him again. Until now, that is.

“Sir! The Icheon facility has been attacked at eleven last night! Witnesses claimed that they were overwhelmed by supernatural powers, it must have been a group of deviants.” He didn't know what it was but he stopped outside the door to his superior to listen in silence.

“Overwhelmed? How many were there?”

“We are not sure yet but they reached the cells of the mutants we collected three days ago and took the one we made out to be the initiator of the factory raid.”

“That one? He raided a factory, stole the mutants there and threw himself into a facility shortly after...You think he's got a team backing him up, then?”

“Their main goal appeared to be his recovery but they also broke out a handful of other mutants, getting away with a van of ours. With the security team not knowing about the types of their mutations they managed to get away. Twenty men are wounded, four of them badly, Sir.”

“You lost them?!”, his superior hollered audibly slamming his fist on the table.

He remained still, not knowing whether he was allowed to step inside and report back to his superior like he would always do or if it was better to stay outside just a little longer. Should he not have listened? He hadn't been asked to but for some reason he just stayed exactly where he was, right beside the door where the words from the inside were perfectly audible.

“A mistake that will not occur again but rest assured, we know the identity of the initiating mutant and there seems to be no need for concern. It is Shin Hoseok, the experiment Doctor Im used your therapist mutant for before.”

“That shady researcher's test object, huh? I had no choice but to obey the authorities back then but I don't trust that guy. Make sure to catch that mutant again, I don't care what Im is trying to achieve by letting him run around like that. Get his face and name out into the news.”

“We are already planning on broadcasting it all over the country so people know whom to look out for and I brought his file with me for you to look at.”

He could hear the sound of rustling pages as they were turned over, thinking it was the right moment to knock on the door and he raised his hand but his superior's voice had him halt. “Sergeant?”

“Yes, Sir?”

“You said his name was Hoseok, didn't you? What's with this thing here?”

“Ah, yes. According to the therapist in charge, he is no longer listening to the name of Hoseok. It appears he now calls himself Wonho.”

_Wonho._ That name. The blinds lifted all at once.  _Wonho, run!_ How could he have forgotten about that in a time this short? How long had it been since he had last seen him? 

He backed against the white wall by the door covering his mouth with one hand. It was Wonho. Wonho was out there, just like he had told him so often. Doctor Im's experiment. Oh how he tried to forget that day, the way his cold hands had felt against feverish temples. The screams filling the air, surrounding him, cutting through his concentration over and over again so he would have to start anew. All those hours of altering the memories of the one he had hoped to spare from the use of his powers.

“ _You'd never hurt me, would you?”_

He was glad he hadn't promised anything then. It would have made him a liar. Wonho had experienced the mutation firsthand, had suffered from it, fought it, resisted so much it had hurt to watch...

“But he is alive”, he whispered to himself trying to regain his composure by taking calm breaths. Wonho was alive. Not necessarily doing good but he was out. _Free_ , he would have said. So the mutant they had tried to pin down, the one they had chased ever since the factory raid...It had been him all along.

The talk of his superior and the Sergeant must have ended as quick steps approached the door and he had no choice but to stand up straight and push his thoughts to the back of his head, pretend that he was fine as always. There was no room in this system for an emotional mutant of his rank. The door opened revealing the surprised face of the Sergeant but he glanced past him right away forcing his voice into the default patterns. “I have come to report back on the deviant I treated, Sir.”

“Sure, come in and wait a minute.” It hurt. Watching his superior flip through the file of the only person he had been told he would not see again any time soon. He was there but then again he wasn't and the thought pained him. But the worst part of it was how he remembered the words the doctor had uttered back then.

_You know what happens when he comes back without any positive results, don't you? A virus has to be exterminated even if it's one you programmed yourself._

Back then, he had not understood. The Wonho he knew hadn't been a virus, no he had just been Wonho, a mutant he could rely on. A mutant he would have considered somebody he cared for.

But he had been given orders. Orders he had hated to execute but still had to. If he hadn't done it someone else would have.  _A virus has to be exterminated._ That could only mean-

“So, tell me about that deviant scum. Why did they try to flee?”

It was no use thinking about things that were not the present. Wonho was not here, he was a thing of the past – no wonder he hadn't thought of him in so long. A memory is just a memory. And what was to come was unforeseeable. It was no use. The present was all that mattered, living one day after the other and hoping to live up to everybody's expectations was everything.

He nodded, stepping forward without glancing at the file on his superior's desk.

“Yes, Sir. I will explain right away.”

 

 


	10. Mutants don't light candles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Wonho discovers that he knows nothing but that this is not a disadvantage. There is always time to learn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> took me forever to finish this, I really have no idea anymore where I want this story to go so I might put it on hiatus for now   
> (also, I slipped into the stray kids fandom and am now a fluffy one shot writing mess, so I lost my feel for Maverick these days) I'll try to come back to this when the time's right, I am sorry to those who wait so patiently ;_;

 

He was lost wandering through corridors and up and down stairs he obviously couldn't know. The building they were in was much bigger than Wonho had anticipated as he tried to find a way upstairs to get some fresh air, to breathe calmly. Bang Chan had said it was all ruins upstairs but if there were ruins there had to be a sky above them nonetheless. He tread lightly, hoping to avoid crashing through the steps of the rusty metal stairs he tried to climb and found himself in yet another corridor but the light seemed much more natural here than downstairs.

“Must be above ground again”, Wonho mumbled to himself as he glanced into a bigger room filled with shelves of books, an old desk and two armchairs that looked pretty rampaged but still comfortable. The scent appeared to be familiar but for some reason, Wonho couldn't remember anything in particular. For the moment, it was just stuffy, which is why he walked up to the window and opened it, letting the warm breeze in from the outside to bring him the scent of nature instead. Trees, flowers, damp earth – had it rained while he had been out of it? He wouldn't know.

There wasn't much in the area he could see from his little lookout, a few old and probably abandoned houses here and there. It felt like wherever he found mutants the surroundings would appear dead. _It's because we can only live where nobody else even wants to breathe,_ he thought bitterly, fingers digging into the rusty window frame. The feeling of being overwhelmed by what others made him out to be subsided with every breath he took, allowing him to take a look around the room with a clear head.

It was weird to have bookshelves all over the room without anything else present. It had the appearance of a library, yet the books were all rather slim and though the pages had mostly turned yellow the covers did not look old-fashioned. Wonho let his fingers graze the backs, nails scratching over the different materials, sometimes rough, sometimes smooth. _The History of Man,_ one of the series was called. Twenty volumes, side by side, all in the same design only to be told apart by their numbers.

More history books followed as he walked through the rows of shelves, some thick and massive, some slim and almost looking like they were about to be squished by those surrounding them. He then stopped at one particular book featuring hand drawn images, pulling it out to examine it closely. “The Chobul festival”, he read, fingers stroking over the drawing of a beautifully designed red lantern on which the silhouettes of people fighting one another could be made out. Hyungwon had told him about it in Yeoju, hadn't he? _The candlelight festival. It's an event to commemorate the end of the mutant war about a hundred years ago from what I've heard._

Right, the reason why they had hung up lanterns and all that in the city. He opened the book and flipped through the pages picking up on words like war, sacrifice, fire and, finally, mutants. Hyungwon had told the truth, it had been a war of non-gifted humans and...mutants.

“Mutations have been occurring for more than a century”, he mumbled the words to himself. “People were scared, not understanding the reasons for this phenomenon but nobody thought them to be too dangerous until one day-” The words got stuck in his throat upon seeing the image of a screaming man. Fire was whirling around his arms and legs, facial features distorted and almost non-human. Like a monster. “-until one day, a mutant attacked his own family with an unquenchable bloodthirst.” He didn't want to read on, skimming through the pages instead to examine the drawings. Mutants were harmful. _Normal_ humans were natural. Dark colors. Light colors. It was a simple distinction of black and white, good and evil. How Wonho wished to tear the book apart, rewrite it even without knowing the truth...

But it was just a book. Destroying a book would not help with their situation and Wonho didn't even really want to destroy _anything._ He used to like books, he could remember- He hesitated and glanced around the room, the familiarity of the scent of books making sense at once. Yeha.

_I love reading children's stories but it's better if somebody reads them to you!_

_Those are for kids, why would you read that?_

He could remember reading with Yeha. How he had not been able to understand how he was so absorbed in a story for little kids at the age of fifteen. _In the end we're all children, aren't we? You need to try it first, go ahead, read to me!_

How could he even dare thinking of giving up his search for a split second? He still had to find Yeha. Yeha was _waiting_ for him somewhere, he couldn't stop looking because other people were trying to make a hero out of him. He shouldn't have blown up about that, but it just didn't make sense to him that anybody would think his little rebellion to be worth all the attention. It was good but at the same time distressing. He didn't like the spotlight.

There were some documents on the desk he had paid no attention to before, too thin to be actual books and more looking like files than anything else. Wonho went to browse through one of them only to find photographs mixed with longer bits of writing. _2_ _nd_ _of December. 5_ _th_ _of December. 7_ _th_ _of December..._

“They're mutant reports.”

He dropped the file as if he had burned himself and spun around to face Bang Chan who was leaning against the door frame with his hands buried in his pockets. He had changed into a comfortable hoodie and sweatpants looking calm and surprisingly young all of a sudden. The way he glanced at Wonho from under his curly bangs revealed that he was not entirely sure what to say, visibly trying not to upset him again. Wonho forced himself to relax and avert his gaze to present himself at ease as well. “Why do you have those here?”

Chan relaxed and approached slowly flipping one of the files open. “This used to be a research center. Like a facility but less mutants and more science. We're just living in the former basement, you know?”

“Research center?” Wonho glanced at the other in shock. “What if they find you?”

“Look around, Wonho.” Chan extended his arms to both sides with a sad smile. “There's not much left of it now or is there?” _It's all ruins upstairs._ Right. “It was abandoned about one or two decades ago after an accident that blew up most of the building, according to these reports, at least.”

“What kind of accident would have an aftermath of that scale?”

“Unchanneled mutant energy can have fatal impacts. They didn't know what they were messing with.”

Wonho's breath hitched and he blinked a couple of times. “Mu- our energy did this?” It reminded him of the fact that he was supposed to feel his own power but didn't. _I guess it will take a while to flow again._ “Well, at least you guys have a shelter for now, right?”

“You get it. But tell me-” Bang Chan scooted closer and stared at him intensely. “What are your plans? If you won't be our hero what will you do?”

It was hard holding his gaze that was full of mixed feelings. Hope, disappointment, curiosity, even a bit of anger Wonho didn't know the recipient of. Eventually, he had to avert his eyes and looked at the reports instead. “I need to find a friend. That's all I want and have to do. I promised.”

“A friend? That's why you're doing all this? What's his name?”

“Why would you want to know?”

“Come on, don't be like that.” Bang Chan walked over to a shelf with tons of files bending the wooden boards under their weight. “We have old files and thanks to our little mission to save you we do in fact own the most recent data bank as well. If you have a name we can try to find him. It's the least we could do for you.”

_The data bank. Of course._ Wonho's frown melted away to turn into a genuine smile of relief. “Would you let me have a look?”

“I told you we'd do whatever you want us to. Well, mostly. Come on, I'll lead you down to the computer.” It was hard to contain the excitement as he followed the other into the basement again and towards a secluded room far away from the main basement hall. They crossed paths with some boy and Chan told him to pass their whereabouts on to Hyungwon. The boy ran off without another word leaving Wonho to wondering about why Hyungwon was always the first to receive those news.

“You must think Hyungwon is my right hand, don't you? Like Woojin to you.”

“He was the most vocal one when it came to rescuing you. Should I prioritize someone else in terms of information? Seokwon? Gunhee?”

“N-No, it's just...we didn't have a hierarchy or anything. Hyungwon just happens to be the closest to me, somehow. I'm not a leader and he's not the second. We're all just...friends.”

“Noted for reference. We figured that you don't view yourself as leader anyway”, Bang Chan replied casually before thinking of something else. “Wait, so you're trying to find a friend. You're telling me you were walking around Korea not knowing where to start looking? That's like a needle in a haystack.”

Wonho hummed with a nod only to correct himself. “Kihyun told us to go look for someone in Yongin because he might be able to help us. Is that far from here?”

“Not really. A couple hours of walking, not even half an hour of driving. Who is it you hope to meet there?”

“Uhm, his name was I.M or something the like?”

Bang Chan halted by a door, hand resting on the handle as he turned back with a frown. “That guy? I heard he's just some crazy human though?” Wonho could only shrug, having no information on the person they were looking for whatsoever. “We'll ask Ki again when he gets here, maybe he got things mixed up.”

“Ki? Kihyun? He's coming here?”

The leader smiled and Wonho couldn't help noticing again how young he looked as he opened the door to a dark room. “Woojin said he'd arrive tomorrow. Decided to come when he heard we would retrieve you from the facility, apparently. You're leaving an impression, Wonho.”

“He just wants his lunch boxes back, I'm afraid”, he laughed in reply and waited for the neon lights to illuminate the room. “Is it a machine like the one at the container shelter? Where you hook someone up to a sensor or something and it recognizes the person?”

“We didn't set it up yet, we only have the search engine in use right now but I'll get Seokwon to show me how to connect it to that sensor later.”

“I see.” The probably once white walls were a pale yellow and piles of chairs and small tables took up most of the space around a desk and the promised computer. Wonho waited patiently for the system to load, sitting down on one of the tables and letting his feet dangle. “Bang Chan, how old are you?”

“Twenty-one.” He asked again, thinking he had heard wrong but knowing he hadn't when he received the same reply again. “What's wrong?”  
“You're so young!” Wonho slapped a hand over his mouth to stop himself from looking like an absolute idiot. Twenty-one. That made him even younger than Seokwon yet here he was keeping a pile of mutants hidden from the rest of the world and even getting him out of a facility. _And you don't even help him by becoming the idol he's been looking for._ “The responsibility must be suffocating.”

“It's no biggie, I'm used to taking care of Hannah and Lucas anyway. They just need to know who's boss and down here that's me.”

“Admirable. Since you're mentioning Hannah...she's real, right? She's not just some dream apparition like I feared. I'm not going mad, right?”

Chan laughed out loud at that, making the awkwardness disappear as his fingers flew across the keyboard. “No you're not, she's my sister. You'll probably meet her later when we eat together. Ah right, eating together is a thing I introduced to the group so we'd sit together and strengthen our bond. It would be nice if you stuck to that rule while you're here.”

“S-sure. Hannah is younger than you?”

“Mhm. She's usually hanging out with Jeongin and Lucas. Lucas is our little brother, Jeongin the youngest newbie here. They're our babies whether they want it or not.” Bang Chan chuckled to himself, visibly enjoying the thought of the three as his babies to take care of before he finally looked up from the screen. “So. Your friend's name?”

Wonho moved closer right away. “Yeha. For all I know that's his name.”

“Yeha. Alright, here goes nothing.” Chan punched in the letters and pressed the search button but nothing happened, the search results remaining at zero. “Uh...Are you sure that's his name?”

“It's what I called him, that has to be his name...”

“Your name is also different from the one in the data bank, right? What if it's the same problem, you don't have an alternative name, right?”

“Yes but he's just Yeha, I don't...Don't know...” Wonho didn't know a thing. He hadn't known Yeha's location from the start but now he didn't even know the name the authorities had given to him in the data bank? This wasn't a needle in a haystack. It was nothing but a speck of dust he was looking for. Dark red hair, husky voice, stargazing, likes to read children's books, fear of his own powers. Right, Wonho didn't even remember Yeha's powers.

“It's alright, Wonho. We'll just keep looking until you remember something else. Don't worry-”

“How can I call myself his friend when I don't even know his actual name? Are my memories...wrong?” Wonho sat on the desk again pulling his knees up to his chin. “I might never find him and he'll be out there waiting for me to come and get him until who knows when. No name, no powers, no place, no...nothing. I don't have anything.”

“Hey, no, take a deep breath-” The door opened but Wonho barely registered how Hyungwon's arms engulfed him in a hug or how his hands lifted his head to make him look at him. Chan remained calm, a hand on Wonho's to soothe him. “We've got all the facilities and their locations. It might take a while but we'll wing it and make sure to find who you're really looking for. It's gonna be alright.”

Hyungwon, still not having said a thing, glanced at the screen and understood immediately. “Yeha is a beautiful name. We'll find the one it belongs to, okay? Just stay positive, breathe calmly and move forward. Worked well so far, didn't it?”

Right, it had worked well so far. One step at a time, he had told himself that throughout the past week and he would stick to it. The panic of never finding the only memory he had decreased and he forced himself to relax his tensed muscles with a nod. It was just too much at once, he needed some more time to sort everything out.

“Okay. Yeah, whatever. I...I'd like to rest if that's alright with you guys.”

Hyungwon glanced at Bang Chan who just nodded. “Sure. You must still be tired out, rest as long as you want, yeah? Most rooms close to this one are empty, take whichever suits you.”

Wonho mirrored Chan's nod jumping down from the table and making for the door. Hyungwon showed signs of wanting to follow him but Wonho stopped him with a shake of his head. “I'd...like to be alone for a while.”

The other seemed to argue with himself chewing on his bottom lip in worry but eventually decided to comply, remaining where he was. There was much on Wonho's mind when he walked through the corridor and opened the first door he could spot, lying down with a groan and covering his eyes. It wasn't enough.  _It might take a while._ No, he had to be quick or he risked that Yeha did not remember him anymore. He had to find him somehow but he was just some lone wolf looking for his long lost companion. 

_We'll back you up when you need us._ Woojin and Bang Chan had seemed so genuine saying that. Maybe it was better to consider the offer.

He  _did_ want to change something after all.

And if anything could speed up the search for Yeha, it was an increased number of searchers.

He had to find Yeha.

If that meant working with Bang Chan and the others, so be it.

Wonho closed his eyes wishing for nothing more than the bliss of comatose-like sleep.

He had to remember Yeha. Everything about him.

But the sleep never came and he couldn't stand the silence of the room for long.

It had barely been an hour since he had left Bang Chan and Hyungwon but the silence was suffocating as there was nothing else to do except for lying on the bed and staring at the old and crack-littered ceiling. This wasn't it and his memories would not return that way either. He had to keep himself busy, at least until Kihyun would arrive the next day. If he was still convinced that I.M would be of help he'd go to Yongin. If not, he would ask Bang Chan what their next plan was and most likely join in.

Neither of these options would bring him back to Yeha right away but that was fine. He would have to make do with the options he had, right?

He did not talk to Hyungwon about Yeha nor to anyone else. He saw the looks the other shot him every now and then but he pretended not to see the worry and empathy. He would be fine, he just had to man up and move forward like he'd been told to. Yeha would wait, he just knew it and that was the way things were supposed to be.

He spent all his spare time in the book room upstairs going through the notes of the mutant war as well as the reports of the facility. It was macabre, yet fascinating to read of all those different powers. Dinner was in the main underground hall and Wonho was overwhelmed by the amount of people at first. About forty, he guessed. Bang Chan told him the group had doubled in size during the past two weeks, saying the reason was none other than Wonho, just like before. He didn't find it in himself to fight the young leader's opinion then.

A girl walked past him and he recognized the light-brown braid in a second. “Hannah!” She turned in surprise but smiled at him shortly after with a bow of her head. Hyungwon and the others were visibly confused but they didn't comment on it when Wonho shook hands with Hannah. “Thank you for your help the other day. It's...it's hard to describe but you gave me something like hope in there, saying the others would come looking for me and all.” Hannah's smile widened and she blinked – without saying a word. “Bang Chan said you're his sister and that you have another brother?” She nodded just enough for him to notice and pointed at Chan sitting a few steps away next to a boy of maybe twelve years. She then waved good-bye and went to join them, leaving Wonho confused with his fried shrimps.

Gunhee chuckled. “She doesn't talk to anyone, flirting is useless. How do you even know her?”

“I wasn't-” He broke off to pout and glance at Hannah again. “She talked to me in my dream...”

“Wait, you saw _her_?”, Jooheon asked and turned to Hyungwon and Seokwon. “He woke up talking about somebody from his dream, I didn't think she would actually exist. But how did she-”

“Must be her mutation. Dream walking”, Seokwon mused nodding to himself. “I keep being surprised by the wide range of stuff mutants can do.”

“Same for me”, Wonho whispered before stuffing his mouth with food again, listening to the conversations people were having around him without ever participating himself and soon moving back the room of books to read the file he had stopped with earlier. It was written by the one who had established the research center seventy years ago and his handwriting was curvy and neat.

 

_This week, we were allowed to test a few of the people with extraordinary powers. There are three of them residing in our research center now, none of them a direct threat to us, the researchers. It has been more than thirty years since the great war and at least as long since I have last seen one of those people alive. It is very fascinating to watch them execute their powers like it is the easiest thing on this planet and it is even more interesting to watch the expression of pure joy when they are allowed to set the energy free. If we could just find a way to put these powers to good use, maybe we could make the world a better place. I know it is impossible to let them live with humans like before but there is something to them. There is something about them I want to understand like you try to understand a new language when confronted with it. Yes, maybe their powers are just a new language after all. These Mavericks are most intriguing beings._

 

He read over the lines again. And again. They weren't necessarily hostile, no. Even after the war this researcher had written reports that appeared to be...awestruck, in a way. Wonho's eyes got stuck on the word the professor had used. Maverick.

It sounded nice and he mumbled it to himself, a smile appearing on his lips. It described that they were somewhat lost while at the same time being different though not in a negative way. Yes, this was a nice word.

They were Mavericks.

A yawn interrupted him and blurred his vision. All the reading from before dinner, the new information had tired him out and he was quick to move back to his room, placing the file on his bedside table to continue reading it the next day.

He drifted off into sleep without the smile fading. He had a word to describe himself, old and more neutral than mutant or deviant.

_Mavericks. That's right, that's us._

 

 

A knock woke him from his sleep and he rolled over with a grunt. “Hyungwon? Chan?” Sitting up he pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes. “Who is it?”

The person entered, steps sounding only vaguely familiar and when he glanced at their attire it looked like they had just come in from the outside, jacket and bag dangling from their shoulder. The cold eyes, however, were unmistakable.

“Kihyun!” Wonho squinted at the alarm clock he had been given the evening before finding it to be nine in the morning. “They said you'd arrive today but I thought it would be in the afte-”

“If you had just listened to me and not run into that facility I would have been able to sleep but I couldn't, so here I am”, the blind man snapped knocking against Wonho's head. It was too early for this. “Are you alright? Chan said you're fine but I wanted to make sure in case you're missing an arm or something.”

_An arm?_ Wonho snorted at that comment and yawned extensively before getting up from his bed and stretching. “As you can see- uh, as you'll have noticed, I'm fine.”

“Insensitive.” Kihyun raised a brow and crossed his arms for a few seconds but soon showed him a little smile. “Nothing I wouldn't be used to.”

“No, really, sorry. I just don't think enough before saying things.”

“Do you _ever_ think, though?”, the other chuckled and moved towards the door, Wonho following quickly. “I can't believe you jumped straight into some facility and are still standing here alive and without a scratch.”

“It's the result of a lot of luck, don't start idolizing me as well, please.”

“Ugh, I get it. I told them you're an idiot but they love you, don't they?”, Kihyun sighed with a shake of his head, not having to mention the names of Bang Chan and his friends. “What will you do now?”

Wonho stopped in his tracks, causing Kihyun to turn around and cock his head to the side in confusion. “You told us to go to Yongin, right?”

“I did.” He nodded. “I.M could be of help when it comes to finding people like us. He just...sees our powers. I thought it would make finding stray mutants easier.” _Mavericks._

“Bang Chan said he's crazy. How would we know if he's actually telling the truth or just making things up?”

“We can't be sure”, Kihyun shrugged pulling his sleeves down to his hands. “But you didn't have anything to work with before you got here, so I just thought...”

He trailed off and Wonho chewed on the inside of his cheek for a while. They didn't have any way of finding Yeha unless they increased their numbers and asked around. Every help would bring them a step further, he decided with a nod to himself. “Well, then we should go and try to talk to him. You said he's human, right? Explain to me again why he would ever consider helping us.”

“It's easy”, Kihyun clicked with his tongue and smiled. “He's an outsider. A total loser to the people living in his city from what I've heard. He's weird because he can see our powers and things that cannot be explained are scary to those who don't understand. _We_ understand what he feels like. Convincing him to help us will be child's play, we just need to play the cards well and he'll take the bait. Every loner is looking for someone they can confide in.”

“You make it sound like you want to use him. Like a pawn.”

“He's a normal human who grew up surrounded by people who hate us, Wonho. Crazy or not. He may have helped some but it comes down to the same thing over and over again. He's just like all of them and it's dangerous to actually befriend him. Using him and gaining his trust is the best we can do.”

They were harsh words and Wonho hated to admit that Kihyun was right in a way. He could not agree with him, he had to meet that I.M first to find out how his mind worked. “How do we get to Yongin?”

“The kids have a car and that friend of yours, Gunhee, said he could drive, I asked him about it earlier. Said he had learned it at the factory.”

“So it's me and Gun going there?”

“It's the three of us. I have a plan of how to talk to I.M and I don't trust your skills when it comes to convincing our enemy to join us.”

They reached the underground hall and Bang Chan immediately raised his eyes to find Wonho's. “You're awake.”

“More like 'you were woken up'”, Kihyun mumbled with a slight chuckle at the end. “I talked to him. We'll go to Yongin and see if I.M can help us, moving out in an hour.”

“How will you get Wonho into the city, what's the plan?” They halted at that, Wonho glancing at Kihyun who looked just as clueless.

“You could sing and cover our tracks with that?”, Wonho suggested carefully only for Kihyun to shake his head saying that if they kept themselves hidden I.M would not be able to find them either. Bang Chan sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. “Alright, you will leave later, an hour is not enough. First, we'll dye your hair so you won't look like...well, yourself. We can make plans while waiting for the dye to do its job.”

“I don't want to dye my hair though”, Wonho threw in with a pout crossing his arms. “It's a part of me-”  
“And a dead giveaway, I told you”, Chan insisted with a roll of his eyes. “Felix and Woojin will take care of it, you can choose the colors, we can thank the prior for his interest in it. Just do something that doesn't look like that blonde, red and orange flame hair of yours, please? We can always dye it back another time, right?” Wonho didn't want to part with the crazy hair color but figured it would grow back sooner or later. Kihyun put a hand on his arm and he knew he didn't have much of a choice if he didn't want to be shot on sight in Yongin.

The hair would have to change and it couldn't stay red. Alright then.

Time for a change.

 

 

 

 

“And you are sure this is going to work?”, Kihyun hissed as Wonho scanned the area for the procession.

“Pretty sure. There's no better way anyway, so it's our best shot.” It was the day after Kihyun had joined them, they had pushed their leave back twenty-four hours because of Wonho's idea.

 

“ _The Chobul festival!”, Wonho exclaimed with sudden excitement surging through him and making Felix jump in surprise. They were waiting for the dye to sink into his hair and had worried their heads about a possible plan to infiltrate Yongin for the past thirty minutes._

“ _The festival?”, the younger asked just to be sure and Wonho nodded._

“ _We'll sneak into the festivities, I read a book on them yesterday. Every year there are some processions for most bigger cities to mourn the deaths of the humans who died in the great war. That is our chance to follow everybody inside, most people appear to wear hoods during the procession according to what I've read. And if my sense of time is correct that should be sometime tomorrow! Kihyun will use his powers to get us to the masses and from then on we'll be like birds in a flock, you won't be able to make out individuals.”_

_Felix' jaw dropped, eyes wide in awe before a bright smile appeared on his face. “Oh my God, this is amazing, yes! We should tell Chan and Ki, this might work!”_

 

Wonho sure hoped it would work, long dark cape draped over his shoulders and a hood to cover most of his face. Kihyun's mouth twisted when he breathed in. “I can smell the dye against the wind, what colors did you even choose? Chan seemed to be happy, Woojin not so much when they saw you.” He turned towards the other only to remember – again – that Kihyun was blind.

Tugging at the blue hair tips Wonho smiled a little. “It's gray with blue tips. It will take time to get used to but the color is amazing.”

“Blue??” Kihyun all but facepalmed letting out an exasperated groan. “Totally not obvious. Hell, you should have let Woojin choose-”

“They said anything but red and here I am!”, Wonho defended himself only to be shushed by the other, their dialogue cut short as Kihyun pointed at the huge amount of people rounding the low city wall. They fell silent and watched as the crowd moved along the wall, slowly and steadily, candles and lanterns barely visible from the distance. They would soon enter the city after having wandered around it and Wonho glanced at Kihyun to receive a nod. It was time.

He didn't know why but it felt like Kihyun and him would be a good team despite the little time they had spent together, most thoughts didn't have to be voiced and they just functioned as a duo. He enjoyed the blind man's company but at the same time he missed Hyungwon, Jooheon and the others who were waiting back at the hideout.

Kihyun's warm voice reached his ears, sad and quiet as they moved away from the trees they had been hiding behind and towards the city of Yongin where the first procession partakers were already entering the city. With the song hiding them from prying eyes echoing through his head, Wonho followed Kihyun into the seemingly never-ending rows of people, wriggling his way past the low city gate. Too soon did the soothing voice subside and too soon was Wonho aware of the danger they would be in from now on as he glanced at Kihyun. “Okay, where to now?”

“Shush”, Kihyun just hissed as they fell into step with the procession again, quiet and without a sense of orientation. There were no guards around from what Wonho could tell, only cloaked townspeople but what caught his eye was the amount of candles and lights in general. Candles of all colors, red, blue, green, white, yellow, orange, even golden ones were placed by the doorsteps of each house, around tables and benches. Lanterns were hanging from the electric street lamps, just as colorful as the simple candles and at least as mesmerizing. To think that something as beautiful as this was an event to remember a war was a pity, such a pity.

Kihyun nudged his side with his elbow. “Shut your mouth and keep your head down, what are you, five?”

“I've never seen something like this before”, he tried to explain himself but shut up a moment later nonetheless. Kihyun was right, they had to keep their eyes on their mission which was to find I.M. Or to let him find them, for that matter.

The procession was slow, quiet except for the soft tunes of violins and flutes here and there and Wonho let the sad little melodies replace the warmth of Kihyun's song, drowning in the melancholy of mourning all the victims of the war. Minutes passed, long minutes of countless breaths and steps until the street broadened to show them a big square, huge, massive – and decorated with so many candles Wonho couldn't stop the soft gasp that slipped past his lips. It was...amazing. Yet so sad. A sculpture could be seen right in the middle of the square and the longer he looked at it the more details he could see. It was a fight scene of many people clashing with guns and knives and also something like fire. It was not hard to categorize it as a war memorial and Wonho glanced around, wanting to see the sculpture from up close.

Many of the procession participants dispersed into the various alleys to join their little groups of friends and family but some walked up to the sculpture, slowly, respectfully, to set down another candle that would burn quietly and steadily until the flame would be drowned in hot wax. The entire event had an atmosphere to it that felt heavy in Wonho's chest and he turned to Kihyun- only to be unable to find him.

“Kihyun?”, he hissed, not wanting to disturb those by the sculpture and trying to remain subtle as he turned his head left and right looking for the blind man. When had he lost him? “Kihyun, where are you?”

“Don't panic, you idiot”, the other's voice replied and when Wonho spun around Kihyun was suddenly standing in front of him with a candle in his hand each. Wonho could have sworn he hadn't been standing there two seconds before and Kihyun chuckled. “My powers. Invisible to those who are not supposed to see and stuff? Come on, let's go to the statue.” He shoved one of the candles into Wonho's palm before softly tugging at his cloak and pulling him towards the middle of the big plaza. “I've been doing this every year since I can remember”, the young man mused with a melancholic smile on his lips as he stepped closer to the sculpture and let his hand run over the stone and bronze-like material.

Wonho took a deep breath and looked around once more seeing so many humans, normal humans illuminated by the warm candlelight. It was so peaceful it hurt to know that just outside the city there were facilities where Mavericks were being tortured. Wonho's chest constricted and he returned his attention to Kihyun, doing as he did and kneeling on the floor to light his candle on the flame of another. Just like that, a new light was born, joining the others to create something beautiful, beautiful and sad at once. He put the candle down and watched as the wick turned from white to black, wax beginning to melt slowly.

Kihyun placed his candle next to Wonho's with his smile still in place, nodding to himself as he got up. “Those are for the fallen mutants”, he whispered but Wonho shook his head, a movement so tiny Kihyun didn't pick up on it. _No, these are for the mavericks._

He swallowed hard as he rose to his feet again, stepping away and taking in the scene of the sculpture once more. Human and maverick. Light and dark. Good and evil. It didn't have to be like this.

Kihyun spun with a start and Wonho was ripped out of his trance by the sudden movement, trying to identify what had caused Kihyun's reaction. There was a young man standing there with a prominent nose, slightly chubby cheeks, piercing eyes and hair of a dark gray color. He was frowning at the two of them, eyes calculating and guarded as he cocked his head to the side.

“What are two of your kind doing here?” His voice was deep, much deeper than Wonho expected.

Kihyun regained his composure by clearing his throat and put up a confident front. “Our kind? We are just partaking in the festival like everybody else. Now if you would excuse us-” He grabbed Wonho by the sleeve and was about to leave when the deep voice sounded again.

“Sound manipulation and lightnings.” The young man's hand was quick to pull down Wonho's hood so the stranger could get a good look of his hair and face, frown deepening. Wonho's eyes widened but he tried to remain calm. The last thing they could use was him behaving suspicious in the presence of a human. The nameless man let out a short whistle at the sight of Wonho's hair and nodded with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Careful, watchful, obervant. “You must have a reason for being here. Would you mind telling me?...Wait, let's hide your face again.” When neither Kihyun nor Wonho reacted right away the man let out a quiet groan and pulled the hood back up so it covered Wonho's face. He came so close Wonho stepped back by reflex. “Your face is a giveaway, dyeing your hair was not really necessary if I'm honest.”

Wonho's eyes widened comically and he glanced at Kihyun who appeared to be just as shocked. The man knew. He knew Wonho. Panic began to build up in his stomach because how the hell were they going to get out of the city when somebody _knew_? They were dead meat, they would be caught and-

“Calm down, I'm not telling anyone. Not yet.”

Wonho felt Kihyun's fingers tighten around his arm as the blind man thought of something, surprise spreading on his face. “Who are you?”

The man showed them another grin paired with a glint of amusement to his eyes, knowing that he had better cards as he put his hands in his pockets. “An observer from the side lines? A helper? An enemy? I don't know the answer to your question. I'm just who I am, no more and no less.”

It finally clicked in Wonho's head as well and he inhaled sharply taking a step forward again. “You must be I.M, right? We've been looking for you, to be honest.”

“What a pleasure to be visited by a wanted mutant. It's true, I go by the name of I.M.” The young man raised a brow before glancing around the square and signaling Kihyun and Wonho to follow him. “Let's talk someplace more private.”

Wonho glanced at Kihyun who kept his blind eyes on the stranger – I.M – with a simple nod. It appeared that they had been found by the crazy human. Wonho took one more deep breath before he followed the young man into the warmly lit alley, Kihyun only one step behind.

They had to talk to I.M.

And they had to do it well.

 


End file.
